“Barbie” Has Always Been a Star–and Now She Has Her Own Movie

Barbie is now a living doll, as she is the star of her own movie. Oh yes, Ken is still her boyfriend and, in this case, co-star.

Warner Bros. has released the official trailer for Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” film, starring Margot Robbie as the eponymous fashion doll.

For now there are very few details. The trailer was shown as a surprise at the first screenings of James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water”. In the 90 seconds shown, Gerwig hints at her film’s Lego Movie-esque self-aware comic tone with a knowing — and hilarious— homage to Stanley Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Narrated by Helen Mirren, the opening scenes transport us back to a prehistoric landscape where young girls are playing with boring baby dolls. As the opening chords of “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” kick in, Mirren teases the arrival of a monolithic new figure: a statuesque blonde looker .

Plot details have been kept tightly under wraps, but we do know the film finds Barbie and Ken stuck in the real world, where she discovers the challenges of being a live woman. Robbie stars opposite Ryan Gosling, who plays Barbie’s longtime boy toy Ken.

Along with Robbie and Gosling, the star-studded cast includes Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Nicola Coughlan, Emerald Fennell, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Simu Liu, America Ferrera, Ncuti Gatwa, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Ritu Arya and Jamie Demetriou.

“Barbie” is a co-production by Mattel Films, Heyday Films and Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment banner with Tom Ackerley. LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara and Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz as executive producers. The film began production earlier this year in London and wrapped in July.

Back in 2019, Robbie told Variety’s Marc Malkin the importance of bringing Barbie to life on screen. “I think it’s a great opportunity to put some positivity out in the world and a chance to be aspirational for younger kids,” she said.

“Barbie” premieres in theaters on July 21, 2023.