The long-awaited Barbie movie adds Will Ferrell to an already impressive cast list for this Warner Bros. film. News of the film first broke in 2019 when Margot Robbie signed on to play the titular role, with subsequent news following Greta Gerwig directing and co-writing the script with Noah Baumbach.
Much of the plot details are still under wraps, but production has already begun at WB’s Leavesden Studios in London. The live-action toy film offers an impressive cast list with Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, and America Ferrera already signed onto production.
The latest cast member to join the team is Ferrell, his first feature outing since 2020. Ferrell is set to play the role of a CEO of a toy company, with speculations noting it will most likely be Mattel. Despite the traditional Barbie movies of the past, this live-action adaptation is expected to bring a different perspective to the popular toy.
Robbie noted in an interview with British Vogue that the role of Barbie “comes with a lot of baggage… and a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack it,” Robbie continued. “People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what this movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t.”
Gerwig is most known for her work on Lady Bird and Little Women and works to create realistic storylines with female leads, so it comes as no surprise that her take on Barbie is being kept quiet for now. The film is set for a theatrical release in 2023.