The Barbie Movie: Everything We Know

Between The Lego Movie and Transformers, it’s crazy we haven’t gotten a feature film about the most famous toy in the world: Barbie. Sure, there are a number of animated movies and series, but no one’s yet tapped the box office potential of bringing Barbie to life…unless you count Life-Size, which I kind of do.

But finally, it looks like a Barbie movie will hit the big screen. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming picture:

Gerwig and her partner, Noah Baumbach, have been attached to the project as co-screenwriters since 2019, but Variety confirmed in July 2021 that Gerwig will also direct.

“It comes with a lot of baggage!” Robbie told British Vogue in June 2021. “And a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that comes a lot of exciting ways to attack it. People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t…” 

This is far from the first lineup

Sony has been trying to make a Barbie movie happen since 2014. First it was Sex and the City’s Jenny Bicks writing a script, then Diablo Cody came in, and Amy Schumer was cast in the lead role. Then, she dropped out, and the role went to Anne Hathaway. Then, Cody left the project, and they basically scrapped the whole thing and started fresh at Warner Bros., with Olivia Milch of Ocean’s 8 writing. Now, of course, Gerwig and Baumbach are in charge, and it’s unclear how much of the previous versions they’ll be working with.

It starts filming soon

Gerwig and Baumbach are currently at work on White Noise for Netflix, but this is their next project once that wraps. The Barbie movie is set to start  production in early 2022 at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden Studios in London, aiming to hit theaters in 2023, per Variety.