New reports from the Cannes Film Festival indicate that the Margot Robbie-led Barbie movie will feature multiple versions of Barbie and Ken. The Harley Quinn actress is attached to produce the long-gestating film and is leading an ensemble cast that also includes Ryan Gosling as Ken, America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell and Hari Nef. Plot details for the Barbie movie are currently unknown.
Various studios have spent the better part of a decade attempting to get a live-action Barbie movie off the ground, with Mattel first partnering with Sony Pictures and Amy Pascal signing on to produce. Comedian Amy Schumer would enter talks to portray Barbie in this incarnation of the film before departing due to scheduling conflicts and Anne Hathaway subsequently eyeing the role, though the project would fall apart in 2018 when Sony lost the rights to the character. Warner Bros. would later acquire the rights for a Barbie movie with Margot Robbie entering talks to star in and produce the film while Greta Gerwig and romantic and creative partner Noah Baumbach signed on to pen the script, with the former eventually signing on to direct in mid-2021.
As the Cannes Film Festival gets underway, New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan took to Twitter to share information he learned for Margot Robbie's Barbie movie. Buchanan says that the film will reportedly feature multiple Barbies and Kens, with Simu Liu and Ncuti Gatwa set to play the titular character's partner while Issa Rae and Hari Nef are set to play different Barbies. See what Buchanan shared below:
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It should be noted that Buchanan does preface the information he shared for the Barbie movie by calling it "incredible goss," leaving the possibility open that the film including multiple Barbies and Kens isn't true. With that said, there are a number of prior reports for the film that have indicated a meta element to its plot, namely with Will Ferrell reportedly being cast as a CEO of a toy company that may or may not be Mattel themselves. Additionally, Margot Robbie has previously discussed her goal for the film to subvert audience expectations to deliver something that fans of the character would enjoy while also hoping to create a thoughtful conversation around Barbie, something a meta take on the character could deliver successfully.
Warner Bros. is no stranger to allotting filmmakers to bring a self-referential approach to their projects, with The Lego Movie notably poking fun at its titular toy company while the recently released Space Jam: A New Legacy attempted to take jabs at WB's library, but was met with derision from critics and audiences alike. With Simu Liu having recently teased some wild dance sequences to come from Robbie's Barbie movie, it would be an interesting twist to not only see various Barbies and Kens share the screen but also engage in such a musical scene together. Only time will tell what's to come from the Barbie movie as filming continues on the long-gestating project leading up to its July 21, 2023 release.
Source: Kyle Buchanan/Twitter
