Back in 2019, just months after Amy Schumer’s Barbie movie was declared a non-starter at Sony, Warner Bros. confirmed that they were developing a film based on the classic Mattel toy property starring Suicide Squad‘s Margot Robbie. Shortly thereafter, Little Women‘s Greta Gerwig was attached to the project as a producer, and now, Gerwig is set to direct the film from a screenplay she wrote with Noah Baumbach. She has been a choice that a lot of people have expected since she became connected with the project, but there was nothing formal before now. Gerwig previously acknowledged that Barbie “comes with a lot of baggage! And a lot of nostalgic connections.”
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The deal is now done, though, and they plan to go into production after Baumbach’s White Noise, in which Gerwig will appear, according to Variety, who broke the story. Barbie will go into production next year, with an eye toward a summer 2023 release.
“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,” said Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, at the time of the film’s initial announcement. “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.”
Schumer’s casting was always a bit controversial with the internet hivemind, while Robbie seems like the obvious choice for such a role. Robbie will also co-produce the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment Banner, alongside Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara from LuckyChap Entertainment.
“Playing with Barbie promotes confidence, curiosity and communication throughout a child’s journey to self-discovery,” said Robbie. “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 character of Barbie has starred in numerous direct-to-home-release animated films, but this will be her first theatrical feature.
“This project is a great start to our partnership with Ynon and Mattel Films,” said Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “And, Margot is the ideal producer and actress to bring Barbie to life on screen in a fresh and relevant way for today’s audiences.”
The Sony film was originally slated for a summer 2018 release, but had been pushed back following Schumer’s exit. That movie was said to center around a story where Schumer was essentially the odd Barbie out, living in Barbieland but not as perfect as everyone else in a fish-out-of-water story a la Big and Splash.
Whether or not the planned film at Warner Bros. follows this same concept is unknown.
