According to Deadline, Golden Globe winner America Ferrera has been tapped to join Oscar nominee Margot Robbie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ forthcoming live-action Barbie movie, based on Mattel’s iconic toy doll franchise. She will also be starring alongside Ryan Gosling (The Big Short), who is set to portray the role of Ken.
Ferrera is best known for her leading performances in hit sitcoms such as Ugly Betty and Superstore, with Ugly Better earning her Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Best Actress. Her other notable film credits include The Sister of the Traveling Pants films, Real Women Have Curves, Lords of Dogtown, Our Family Wedding, and the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.
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The live-action Barbie movie will be led by Margot Robbie (I, Tonya, The Suicide Squad), who is also serving as a producer through her LuckyChap banner. The project will be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Greta Gerwig from a screenplay she co-wrote with Noah Baumbach.
Further details about its plot and characters are still being kept under wraps, but production is expected to begin sometime this year at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studios in London. The studio is reportedly planning to release the film in 2023.
The film will also be produced by LuckyChap’s Tom Ackerly and Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner along with Josey McNamara and Ynon Kreiz. This marks Robbie’s latest collaboration with Warner Bros. Pictures after starring as fan-favorite anti-hero Harley Quinn in 2016’s Suicide Squad, 2020’s Birds of Prey, and 2021’s The Suicide Squad.
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Barbie was originally being developed at Sony for the last few years, with Amy Schumer and then Anne Hathaway both initially in talks to star in the movie, while Diablo Cody was also previously attached to write. However, the project’s development was ultimately moved to Mattel Films and Warner Bros. Pictures.
