Barbie’s Snyder Cut Reference Almost Poked Fun at a Different Movie

Barbie has easily been one of the biggest phenomenons in recent months, with a slew of attention and over $1 billion grossed at the global box office. The Warner Bros. film was unafraid to poke fun at some elements of popular culture — and it sounds like one almost took on a very different shape. During a recent appearance at the Writers Guild of America West headquarters, Barbie director and co-writer Greta Gerwig revealed that the film’s reference to the “Snyder Cut” of Justice League — with Barbie (Alexandra Shipp) admitting she felt like she was “very invested” in the film while brainwashed by the hyper-masculine Kens — wasn’t in the original script. Instead, there was actually a line referencing 1982’s Blade Runner, and the infamous debate over its voiceover element.

“One of the Barbies says to Ken, ‘Oh my god, I never would have realized that Deckard was a replicant,’” Gerwig recalled with a laugh. “Then when she gets unbrainwashed, there’s a version where she said, ‘I liked the voiceover. I needed it to help me understand what was happening. Nobody’s following this.’”

According to co-writer Noah Baumbach, there were very brief plans to include Blade Runner director Ridley Scott in Barbie in a cameo appearance, but it did not pan out.

“It wasn’t making fun of him. We loved him as we love all of our references,” Baumbach said, with Gerwig adding, “Every reference we had was out of love. We love Sly Stallone. Everything was a lighters-up tribute.”

Why Did Barbie Reference the Snyder Cut?

As Gerwig explained to ComicBook.com in an exclusive interview, the reference to Zack Snyder’s Justice League in Barbie felt like a natural thing to include in the finished film.

“Because I don’t have a dog in this fight, I didn’t even really know, I knew it was a thing,” Gerwig explained. “I don’t know the contours of all the ins and outs. But it’s the kind of thing that I vaguely know. But I think that was the thing, that it was like if [Writer Barbie] had a vague knowledge of, and then all of a sudden in a certain state, it really meant a lot to her, and then it went away.”

Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?

According to a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter, there are currently no options or deals in place for Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling to return for a Barbie sequel. Robbie, in particular, is reportedly not obligated to return to her role of Stereotypical Barbie, but could return as a producer on a Barbie sequel if she wanted to.

As the report outlines, Warner Bros. Pictures “made overtures” about Gerwig possibly returning to direct a Barbie sequel, but her team delayed those talks until the first film’s debut. With negotiations around new projects on hold until the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are over, there’s a chance that Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling could return for a new Barbie movie — but they would probably have to negotiate much more lucrative contracts, in response to the film’s box office performance. Gerwig has indicated that she currently does not have any ideas for a sequel film.

“At this moment, it’s all I’ve got,” Gerwig revealed. “I feel like that at the end of every movie, like I’ll never have another idea and everything I’ve ever wanted to do, I did. I wouldn’t want to squash anybody else’s dream but for me, at this moment, I’m at totally zero.”

Would you have wanted to see Barbie poke fun at Blade Runner instead of Zack Snyder’s Justice League? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!