Margot Robbie is set to play Barbie in the film about the iconic fashion doll, but when Robbie and writer/director Greta Gerwig were casting the role, they determined that one actress exemplified Barbie in every way — Gal Gadot.
“Gal Gadot is Barbie energy,” Robbie told Vogue. “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.”
The Wonder Woman star was unavailable for the role, but Robbie used Gadot’s “Barbie energy” as a model while casting the film.
What to Expect in Barbie?
“After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less-than-perfect doll, Barbie sets off to the real world to find true happiness with a little help from Ken,” the official synopsis reads. Robbie plays the titular Barbie, while Ryan Gosling stars as Ken.
The film will include different iterations of Barbie and Ken. The actresses playing other versions of Barbie include Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Hari Nef, Nicola Coughlan, Sharon Rooney, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ritu Arya, and Dua Lipa. Scott Evans, Simi Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, and Kingsley Ben-Adir will star as variations of Ken.
Barbie is directed by Gerwig, who co-wrote the film with Noah Baumbach. This is the first live-action Barbie feature film. Robbie will produce alongside Tom Ackerley, David Heyman, and Robbie Brenner. Barbie is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 21, where it will notably go head-to-head at the box office with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.