A neck twice as long and six inches thinner than the average woman. Check.

A six-inch ankle resulting in walking on all fours. Check.

Legs that are 50% longer than the arms. Double check.

With body measurements like this, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’d be near impossible to find an actress capable of embodying Barbie in a live-action film about the doll’s life, let alone execute the cinematic project.

But it comes as no surprise that Oscar-nominated actress Margot Robbie has stepped up to play the iconic character, and has joined forces with some very familiar faces to bring the narrative alive.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Barbie film:

What is the Barbie film plot?

Director and former ELLE UK cover star Greta Gerwig has penned the script with Marriage Story‘s Noah Baumbach. While the Barbie plot remains mostly under wraps, we do know that the film will see Ryan Gosling’s, who plays Ken in the film, wanting to go on a summer adventure with Robbie’s Barbie as they navigate a blossoming romance. Other than that, we’re not entirely sure what to expect from the film’s plot.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Robbie previously revealed that the film is going to give its audience “the thing you didn’t know you wanted.” The star – who co-runs the production company behind the film, LuckyChap Entertainment, with her husband Tom Ackerley and best friend Josey McNamara – explained to the news outlet that their new Barbie project defies assumptions of the character. Producers on Barbie also include Ackerley, Mattel’s Robbie Brenner; and David Heyman from Heyday Films. LuckyChap’s McNamara and Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz are also executive producers.

“We like the things that feel a little left of centre,” the Wolf of Wall Street star noted. She continued by saying that she knew that for many people reading the reports it would be an “‘Oh, Margot is playing Barbie, I know what that is,’” but that her goal is to give fans “something totally different—the thing you didn’t know [they] wanted.”

Who will star in the Barbie film?

After The Hollywood Reporter reported back in 2018 that Robbie would lead the Barbie cast, following previous Barbies Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway backing out of the project for different reasons, the Australian star finally confirmed the news last year.

In June 2022, Robbie and Gosling were pictured in LA on the set of the film (see the photos here), marking the latter’s first time being spotted while filming in character.

In April 2023, a full-length trailer for the highly-anticipated film was revealed, and several actors took to Instagram to share the news of which Barbie they star as in the film, including Ugly Betty‘s America Ferrera, ‘a human’; Dame Helen Mirren, ‘the narrator’; Bridgeton‘s Nicola Coughlan, ‘a diplomat’; Sex Education‘s Emma Mackey, who ‘has a nobel prize in physics’; and multi-Grammy winner Dua Lipa, who naturally plays a singer. Rumours about Lipa’s involvement in the film started in May 2022, so we’re very pleased they became a reality (as real as Barbie gets anyway…)

 

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As for the line-up of Ken dolls, as well as Gosling, of course, three-time Emmy winner Will Ferrell is joined by the likes of Marvel’s Simu Liu, new Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa, One Night in Miami…‘s Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Grace and Frankie‘s Scott Evans.

 

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Following news that Robbie won’t be the only star to play Barbie, Mackey revealed to Empire in July 2022 that outside of filming, the cast gathered for a slumber party. And it was a Barbie-only party for the actors who play the famed doll figure.

“Right in the beginning, we had a sleepover for the Barbies,” Mackey told the news outlet.

Referring to co-stars Evans and Gatwa, she added that it “would involve playing games with Scott and Ncuti.” Sharing details about the cast’s fun moments away from set, Mackey admitted: “I don’t play games usually, because I get so competitive and angry. But Scott and I were top of the game.”

She also spoke about her feeling towards playing Barbie in the film, saying: “It’s great to do comedy. Barbie is light and funny and silly and American and pink.”

 

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Back in June 2021 interview, Robbie spoke about the pressures of playing such an iconic character. “Right, it comes with a lot of baggage!” she told British Vogue. “And a lot of nostalgic connections. But with that come 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…”‘

What is the release date for Barbie?

Barbie will hit cinemas on July 21, 2023.

The Warner Bros. project was first announced in 2019, but is now being released four years later. Variety has confirmed that Gerwig and Baumbach were planning to finish the film after Baumbach finished on his 2022 film White Noise.

Who is Barbie?

While they might share similar physical attributes – long blonde hair, blue eyes, a wide smile – Robbie and Barbie also share somewhat similar career trajectories.

After all, Barbie has been known to have more than 150 careers on her CV, from registered nurse to rock star, veterinarian to aerobics instructor, pilot to police officer.

According to the Barbie website, the doll first broke the “plastic ceiling” in the 1960s when, “as an astronaut, she went to the moon…four years before Neil Armstrong.”

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Meanwhile, in the 1980s she took to the boardroom as “Day to Night” CEO Barbie and ran for President in the 1990s, before any female candidate ever made it onto the presidential ballot.

Likewise, Margot has taken on some seriously ground-breaking roles, from her early acting days as a flight attendant in the series Pan Am, to a figure skater in Oscar-winning film I, Tonya in 2017.

Remember Margot, life in plastic, it’s fantastic!

Is there a Barbie trailer?

Yes, you can watch here:

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