Patty Jenkins In Early Talks To Direct Margot Robbie In ‘Barbie’ Movie
Margot Robbiemay be playing a Barbie girl in aBarbieworld. The Oscar-nominatedI, Tonyaactress is in talks to star as the famous Mattel toy in a feature film possibly helmed byWonder WomandirectorPatty Jenkins. Life in plastic may truly be fantastic.The Hollywood Reporterbroke the news that Robbie is in talks to play the lead role in the long-gestatingBarbiemovie in development in Warner Bros.
The studio is reportedly in early talks with Patty Jenkins, who helmed the wildly successful comic book filmWonder Womanand is currently directing its sequelWonder Woman 1984, to direct theBarbiemovie. However, Deadline reports that Jenkins is no longer circling the project, but her involvement remains unconfirmed.
The studio picked up the project from Sony, which first announced in 2014 that it was partnering with Mattel to develop aBarbiefeature film. In 2016,Amy Schumerwas announced to starin the movie, which was billed as a subversive feminist twist on the classic Barbie story, following a Barbie who didn’t fit in with the impossibly high standards of the Barbie beauty ideals. However, Schumer dropped out of the project a few months later due to “scheduling conflicts,” and the project passed on toAnne Hathaway, who stepped into the lead rolelast year. The film was still wracked withscheduling problemsuntil Sony dropped the project altogether, leaving it ripe for Warner Bros. to scoop it up.
It’s unclear whether the Warner Bros. version of the movie will follow the original logline of a Barbie out of step with the Barbie ideals, leading to her getting kicked out into the real world. Robbie is a talented actress with an underutilized comedic streak, but she still hews pretty closely to the Barbie standards of beauty. EvenI, Tonyastruggled to convince audiences that Robbie is anything but stunning. Then there’s Jenkins' possible involvement as director. With Jenkins potentially on board, it’s possible that Warner Bros.' yet-untitledBarbiemovie won’t even be a comedy anymore. But what could this combination possibly produce? I have no idea. But both Robbie and Jenkins are gifted creatives, so any movie that teams them up goes immediately on my must-watch list.
Warner Bros. has not yet set a date for theBarbiemovie, but Sony’s last scheduled release date for its version of the film was July 09, 2025. However, with the rights to Barbie reverting back to Mattel earlier this year, it could be a while until we see this version of theBarbiemovie.
