Will Ferrell is the latest star to climb aboard Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, somehow boosting our interest in this film even higher. On paper, a movie about a blonde doll doesn’t really sound all that exciting but with Gerwig behind the camera and a cast that includes Ferrell along with Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, America Ferrera and Kate McKinnon …well, consider us very intrigued.
Gerwig is writing the movie with her longtime partner and frequent creative collaborator Noah Baumbach, who worked with her on movies like Frances Ha and Mistress America. They and Robbie took over production after Amy Schumer parted ways with a previous iteration of the project, and Robbie has been candid about the expectations that come along with a project like Barbie.
“People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’” she told British Vogue. “And then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ’Oh, well, maybe I don’t.'”
Robbie and Gosling will be Barbie and Ken, of course, but the rest of the story is under wraps. It’s not totally clear exactly how Liu, McKinnon, Ferrell or the rest of the cast will factor in, but it sounds like the movie plans to get a little meta with its product. On the one hand, you don’t want to overthink a movie about a toy. On the other hand, look how good The LEGO Movie turned out.
