Barbie: Ryan Gosling Wants Film to Represent “The Kens of the World”

In the upcoming Barbie movie, Ryan Gosling plays Ken and while playing a fashion doll might not seem like a natural career trajectory for most, Gosling says it’s something that’s been coming his whole life — and he’s doing it for all the Kens of the world. At the premiere of his latest film, Netflix’s The Gray Man, Gosling told Variety that he thinks Kens will “feel seen” with the movie.

“This has been coming my whole life,” Gosling said, a bit jokingly. “I think a lot of Kens will feel seen when they see this. Gotta do it for the Kens of the world. Nobody plays with Kens!”

As for what to expect in the film itself, Gosling told ET that the film isn’t what anyone thinks it is — and he doesn’t think that anyone has really figure dit out just yet.

“It’s not what you think it is. Unless it is,” Gosling said. “And then you know what it is, but I don’t think that’s what you think it is.”

He went on to say that he’s excited for people to see the film but that it’s also “not what you expect” but couldn’t really say much else.

“I can’t wait for people to see the film,” Gosling said. “That’s all I can say, otherwise Mattel will come and box me up.”

Barbie will be directed by Greta Gerwig, with a script from Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. Margot Robbie, who had been rumored to be attached to the project since 2018, will also be producing the project through her LuckyChap banner. The cast of the film will also include America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Hari Nef, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, and Jamie Demetriou.

“Barbie is one of the most iconic franchises in the world and we are excited to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures and Margot Robbie to bring her to life on the big screen,” Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said at the time. “We look forward to building on this collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures as we tell the stories of our beloved brands. Mattel Films is on a path to demonstrate the enormous potential of our brand portfolio, as we continue to execute on our strategy of transforming Mattel into an IP-driven, high performing toy company.”

“Playing with Barbie promotes confidence, curiosity and communication throughout a child’s journey to self-discovery,” Robbie said in a press release at the time of the announcement. “Over the brand’s almost 60 years, Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president.”

Barbie will be released exclusively in theaters on July 21, 2023.