Margot Robbie is a Barbie girl living in a Barbie world — or at least she will be soon. Per Variety, Warner Bros. has officially closed the deal with Mattel to bring a Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie to the big screen. In addition to portraying the popular doll, Robbie is set to coproduce the film via her LuckyChap Entertainment banner.
“This project is a great start to our partnership with Ynon [Kreiz, Mattel’s new CEO] and Mattel Films,” Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said in a statement. “And Margot is the ideal producer and actress to bring Barbie to life on the screen in a fresh and relevant way for today’s audiences.”
LuckyChap Entertainment’s Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara will coproduce alongside Robbie for the film.
“Playing with Barbie promotes confidence, curiosity and communication throughout a child’s journey to self-discovery. Over the brand’s almost 60 years, Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president. I’m so honored to take on this role and produce a film that I believe will have a tremendously positive impact on children and audiences worldwide. I can’t imagine better partners than Warner Bros. and Mattel to bring this film to the big screen,” Robbie said of the project.
The development marks a promising chapter for the film, which has endured a tumultuous history.
In December 2016, news broke that Amy Schumer would be playing the role of Barbie. At the time, the film was in Sony’s hands and being billed as “a fish-out-of-water story reminiscent of films like Splash and Big.” However, three months after the announcement, Schumer dropped out of the role due to scheduling conflicts.
The following summer, Oscar winner Anne Hathaway was announced as Schumer’s likely replacement. But when Sony postponed the film, Hathaway was lost somewhere along the way.
.@MargotRobbie on @Barbie: I really appreciate that in the last couple of years they've re-branded and really paid attention to the effect they can have, and the positive effect that they can have." pic.twitter.com/HBrOhJJ6DN
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) December 11, 2018
Which brings us to the present, with Barbie being the first movie deal under the Mattel Films umbrella. If anyone could boost interest in Mattel’s toys (and Barbie in particular) and pull off bringing such an iconic piece of pop culture to life, we imagine it might just be Robbie.
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