When the first teaser for the upcoming “Barbie” movie debuted back in December, stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling seemed like obvious choices to play Barbie and her longtime boyfriend Ken. But Robbie has revealed that “Wonder Woman” star Gal Gadot was actually director Greta Gerwig’s first choice for the role.
In an interview with Vogue, Robbie — who is also a producer for the film — explained that director Greta Gerwig wanted someone with “Barbie Energy.”
“Gal Gadot is Barbie energy,” Robbie said. “Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork”.
When Gadot couldn’t take the role because of prior commitments, Robbie stepped in to play the lead.
The film’s recent trailer reveals that it’s not all pink hairspray and convertibles in Barbie’s world. In fact, America’s favorite doll is going through a bit of an existential crisis.
Gosling said Robbie helped him get into his Ken character “every day on set” in a unique way.
“Robbie left a pink present with a pink bow, from Barbie to Ken, every day while we were filming,” he told Vogue. “They were all beach-related. Like puka shells or a sign that says ‘Pray for surf.’ Because Ken’s job is just beach, I’ve never quite figured out what that means. But I felt like she was trying to help Ken understand through these gifts that she was giving.”
The live-action “Barbie” movie had a very long road to production. When the project was first announced in December 2016, comedian Amy Schumer was booked for the lead. After months of ugly body shaming on social media, Schumer announced she wouldn’t be playing the plastic idol after all. While some speculated that she’d dropped out due to the online trolls, the “Trainwreck” actress later explained that creative differences where the main reason.
“They definitely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.
Now, seven years later, “Barbie” is finally headed to the big screen. In addition to Robbie and Gosling, the cast includes Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Anne Hathaway, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrera and many more.
“Barbie” will be in theaters on July 21.
