Barbie Star America Ferrera Is Happy She Didn’t Have to Play a Barbie (Exclusive)

Barbie has easily become one of the most-buzzed-about movies of this year, with fans eager to see how its ensemble cast bring the tale of the iconic Mattel doll to life. In addition to a slew of Barbies and Kens, Barbie‘s cast includes some new characters, including America Ferrera as Gloria. While speaking to ComicBook.com‘s Jamie Jirak about Barbie, Ferrera revealed that she actually was thankful that she hadn’t been cast as another version of Barbie.

“No, I want to do that,” Ferrera explained in our interview, which you can check out above. “Gloria was the part that I would have picked. And I’m glad that’s the part [director] Greta [Gerwig] wanted me for. And I did get to wear fun Barbie outfits, without spoiling it. So, yeah.”

Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?

As star and producer Margot Robbie teased in a previous interview with TIME, the possibility of a Barbie sequel is definitely open. 

“It could go a million different directions from this point,” Robbie argued.

How Many Mattel Movies Are in the Works?

According to a new report from The New Yorker, there are a total of 45 Mattel-related movies in the process of getting made, including (but not limited to) Barney, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, and He-Man. Other projects that have been announced to be in development over the years include American Girl, Big Jim, Chatty Cathy and Betsy Wetsy, Magic 8 Ball, Matchbox, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Thomas & Friends, Uno, View-Master, and Wishbone.

“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 in a statement when the film took shape. “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.”

What Is the Barbie Movie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hits theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel.