Greta Gerwig said “Barbie” might be the “career-ender” for her
The director’s highly anticipated film, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, hits theaters on July 21, 2023.
Greta Gerwig is acknowledging that she felt a range of emotions when taking on the role of Barbie in her new movie.
Gerwig remarked on her choice to collaborate on the script with Noah Baumbach before taking over directing duties for the Warner Bros. movie, which will be released in theatres on July 21, 2023, during an interview with singer Dua Lipa for the podcast At Your Service.
Margot Robbie, who had acquired the rights to the well-known Mattel toy line, was the reason the Little Women director finally got to collaborate with her.
“It was something that was exciting because it was terrifying,” Gerwig said about working on Barbie. “I think that was a big part of it, like: ‘Oh, no, Barbie.’”
She continued, “It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: ‘Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?’ And I think it was that feeling I had was knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually that’s where the best stuff is, where you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender’ — then you’re like, ‘I should probably do it.’”
The script had been in development for years before to Gerwig’s involvement, and Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway had both expressed interest in playing the titular role. The supporting ensemble of Gerwig’s movie features America Ferrera, Simu Liu, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. Robbie plays Barbie and Ryan Gosling plays Ken.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Robbie said that the cast and crew of the movie were looking forward to surprising the audience. We want to say, “Something like Barbie where the IP, the name itself, people immediately have an idea of, ‘Oh, Margot is playing Barbie, I know what that is,’ but our goal is to be like, ‘Whatever you’re thinking, we’re going to give you something totally different — the thing you didn’t know you wanted,’” the star said.