From antihero antics to period royalty, Margot Robbie’s got serious range on the big screen – and now she’s confirmed to play a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world, in the live-action Barbie movie coming from Warner Bros and toy makers Mattel. Not only will Robbie take on the lead role, but she’s set to be a producer on the film too under her production banner LuckyChap Entertainment.
“Playing with Barbie promotes confidence, curiosity and communication throughout a child’s journey to self-discovery,” Robbie said in a statement. “Over the brand’s almost 60 years, Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president. I’m so honored to take on this role and produce a film that I believe will have a tremendously positive impact on children and audiences worldwide. I can’t imagine better partners than Warner Bros and Mattel to bring this film to the big screen.”
The Barbie movie has been floating around for a while, with Amy Schumer originally attached star. She dropped out in March 2017 due to scheduling conflicts, and rumours followed that Anne Hathaway would take the role instead – though they never came to fruition. Writer Diablo Cody was also previously involved with re-drafting the script, but later announced that she’d left the project in April last year.
With Robbie now on board both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, expect a fresh start for the Barbie big-screen project – and considering it’s in the early stages of development, it might be a few years before this one’s out. There’s certainly promise to the premise here – if Barbie can channel the same meta magic as The LEGO Movie, there could be creative gold to be mined in the world’s most iconic doll.
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