Barbie: Margot Robbie Agreed To The Film Under One Condition
It might be hard to imagine anybody besides Margot Robbie as Barbie, the world's most famous doll — even though there were originally other actors attached to the long-awaited "Barbie" movie. Still, according to a new article in Time, Robbie wouldn't have taken the movie if she was the only one playing Barbie.
As the piece explains, Robbie's barbie definitely is the stereotypical version of Barbie people probably remember: long blonde hair, long tan legs, pink outfits, the works. But after Mattel, the company that makes Barbie, introduced a much wider variety of Barbies into its roster in recent years, it made it possible for the movie to depict all sorts of Barbies. Robbie revealed that, without other Barbies, she wouldn't have been interested in the role.
"If [Mattel] hadn't made that change to have a multiplicity of Barbies, I don't think I would have wanted to attempt to make a Barbie film," she told Time. "I don't think you should say, 'This is the one version of what Barbie is, and that's what women should aspire to be and look like and act like.'"
Margot Robbie might look like one Barbie, but there's plenty of others in the movie
Issa Rae — who created, wrote for, and starred in the HBO original series "Insecure" for its acclaimed four-season run — agreed with Robbie, saying that the sheer diversity of the cast is what helped sell her on the "Barbie" movie as a whole. "My worry was that it was going to feel too white feminist-y, but I think that it's self-aware," Rae said. "Barbie Land is perfect, right? It represents perfection. So if perfection is just a bunch of white Barbies, I don't know that anybody can get on board with that."
The COO and president of Mattel, Richard Dickson, made the argument that for people who only have one version of Barbie already in their head, Robbie's portrayal as the proto-Barbie is simply a gateway to the others. "Of course she looks like Barbie," Dickson said. "But they're all Barbie. It's the perfect cast to express what Barbie is today. And Margot is the bridge."
Hari Nef, who plays a doctor Barbie in the film, came into the project with her lived experience as a trans woman — and she also felt comfortable with and excited by the project thanks to writer-director Greta Gerwig. "I knew this was not going to shy away from the parts of Barbie that are more interesting but potentially a little bit more fraught," Nef told Time. "The contemporary history of feminism and body positivity—there are questions of how Barbie can fit into all of that."
Who is the Barbie movie for, and what is it about?
As for what the "Barbie" movie is about, a lot of the plot details have been kept under wraps, but fans of writer-director Greta Gerwig — and her co-writer and real-life partner Noah Baumbach — know that this movie probably has plenty of exciting tricks up its bright pink sleeve. What we do know is that, when she starts thinking about death too much and her arched feet go flat, Robbie's Barbie and her Ken — played by Ryan Gosling — head to the real world to figure out how to solve this admittedly bizarre problem, and hijinks definitely ensue from there.
In the Time piece, the cast remained fairly mum about specific plot details, but Mattel executives had some comments that turned out to be... pretty interesting. Beyond admitting that they'd always hoped Robbie would play Barbie because they think she resembles the original doll, executive producer of Mattel Films Robbie Brenner told interview Eliana Dockterman that "Barbie" is "not a feminist movie," which Dockterman then repeated to Robbie. The actress — whose production company is behind "Barbie" and who makes a habit of playing complex women and producing ambitious female-led projects like "Promising Young Woman" — also had an interesting response. "It's not that it is or it isn't. It's a movie. It's a movie that's got so much in it." As Robbie says, the point is that "we're in on the joke. This isn't a Barbie puff piece."
Will there be a Barbie 2?
So with all the anticipation building for the "Barbie" movie — even as it prepares to face off at the box office against "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One" and Christopher Nolan's latest epic "Oppenheimer" — are the powers that be eying a sequel? It probably won't shock you to learn that, in the Time piece, the Mattel executives definitely aren't against the idea. Quite the opposite, actually. Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz specifically says that there's a possibility of "more Barbie movies," but Robbie, once again, demurred.
"It could go a million different directions from this point," Robbie said, eluding the question. "But I think you fall into a bit of a trap if you try and set up a first movie whilst also planning for sequels."
Fans of the "Barbie" movie, who are already set to come out in droves for its premiere this summer, would probably be happy to watch Robbie star in any number of Barbiecore projects... but we should probably give it a second and see how the first one goes. "Barbie" hits theaters on July 21, 2023, with some cities holding Barbie Blowout Party preview screenings on July 19.