Greta Gerwig's Barbie Rounds Out Cast With Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Emerald Fennell
Are you starring in "Barbie," Warner Bros.' and Greta Gerwig's upcoming live-action movie based on Mattel's world-famous doll line and multimedia franchise? Well you are now!
But seriously, folks, it seems like half of Hollywood has signed on to star in either "Barbie," Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer," or Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" sequel since 2022 began (with the other half starring in the latest Marvel or DC project, if not more than one of those things at once). Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are leading the charge in Gerwig's film as Barbie and Ken, with the "Lady Bird" and "Little Women" director calling the shots from a script she co-wrote with Noah Baumbach. Also onboard are (*deep breath*) America Ferrara, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Hari Nef, and Will Ferrell.
As if all that wasn't enough, Deadline is now reporting that Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, and Jamie Demetriou have also boarded Gerwig's "Barbie" movie. I would say the film is surely done casting by this point, but I'm still not entirely convinced that I'm not in this movie, too.
It's a Barbie world and we're all Barbie girls living in it
Whatever Gerwig's reasons for including so many people in "Barbie," there's no denying she's put together quite the talented cast. Ben-Adir, for example, is coming off a terrific performance as Malcolm X in "One Night in Miami" after doing fine work on shows like "The OA," "Peaky Blinders," and "High Fidelity." Elsewhere, Perlman recently made a welcome return to the small screen with "The Bad Batch," the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" sequel series in which the "Cheers" star voices the deliciously savvy Trandoshan bar owner, Cid.
Beyond that, "Barbie" has now gained a pair of "Sex Education" costars in Swindells and Gatwa, along with "My Mad Fat Diary" alum Rooney, "Grace and Frankie" veteran Evans, "Umbrella Academy" star Arya, "The Afterparty" and "Miracle Workers" actor Demetriou, and Gerwig's own "Little Women" actor Kayne. And let's not forget Fennell, who's coming off a role on 'The Crown" and taking home an Oscar for writing "Promising Young Woman" (a film she also produced and directed for Robbie's LuckyChap Entertainment).
Credit where credit is due: As much of a Mad Libs-style mashup as the "Barbie" cast reads on paper, it's also fairly inclusive when it comes to race and gender. ("Oppenheimer" far less so but, yeah, I get it: A lot of white guys did important stuff in WWII.) Honestly, my interest was already piqued when Gerwig boarded the project, so all this does is make "Barbie" even more of a must-see for me than it already was.
"Barbie" is expected to reach theaters in 2023.