Margot Robbie as the iconic ‘Barbie’ and director Greta Gerwig is the perfect pairing

Known for being Harley Quinn, actress Margot Robbie takes another iconic role! She opened up about the pressure of playing the live-action Barbie in an upcoming film directed by Greta Gerwig.

Margot Robbie admits that playing the role of the iconic Barbie doll comes with a lot of baggage.

The live-action film based on the popular doll has been in development for years now. The film joins a long list of Mattel toy brands getting the live-action treatment. This includes a Polly Pocket film starring Lily Collins. Also, a Rock’em Sock’em Robots flick with Vin Diesel at its helm.

Various Hollywood studios have passed around the Barbie movie production for around a decade. It started at Universal before moving to Sony. At that time, Amy Schumer sets to star in the film in 2016 before dropping out due to scheduling conflicts. Then, Anne Hathaway filled her place.

And while plans for shooting began to shape up, the film rights went back into the hands of Mattel. They, then, sold the rights to Warner Bros. That became the time where Margot Robbie became the most iconic doll. She also served as a producer through her LuckyChap Entertainment group.

Greta Gerwig signed on to write the script, with rumblings that she might direct as well.

It was rumored that Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins would take the director’s chair. However, Jenkins shot that down. Details surrounding the Barbie film are still up in the air. Specifically a release date and the plot’s direction to showcase the real-life version of the decades-old doll. And in a recent interview for Vogue, Robbie admits it’s not an easy role to take on. Robbie said:

“Right, it comes with a lot of baggage! 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…’”

Margot seemingly confirmed that Gerwig would be taking the director’s seat for the Barbie film.

It was something that hasn’t been made clear from Warner Bros. The pairing seems like the perfect storm for Barbie to take an unconventional storytelling approach. It seems like it will go beyond fashion and boys in the characterization of Barbie. Several animated projects based on the doll have been created in the past, but it’s clear this live-action version will use a completely different lens.

Margot Robbie is the perfect fit for a new-and-improved Barbie. Her role in the Suicide Squad franchise and production credits for films like I, Tonya, and Promising Young Woman are testaments of her showing strong female characters on the big screen.

Also, Greta Gerwig is a notable director. She is great at representing strong female leads in films like Lady Bird and Little Women. Both of these films have even received some notable awards which show the depth of Gerwig and her mastery in relaying sophisticated messages.

I just can’t wait for this. Not only is the role of Barbie very iconic and very nostalgic, but with the main lead and the director, I’m pretty sure this will be a blast. And a seemingly beautiful take, at that.