The director of the upcoming Barbie movie, Greta Gerwig, thinks that the satirical drama movie could mark the end of her career if it goes badly. Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Reynolds in the leading roles, will explore the fictionalised world where the different Barnie dolls are real life people.
If that sounds like some low-grade kids movie, you’ll be in for a shock. That’s because, in reality, the movie has been described as being akin to science fiction movies The Matrix and The Truman Show. That’s a bold direction to take a Barbie movie in, but also sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Of course, as well as being fun, it’s also a significant risk.
Now, Gerwig has spoken about that risky aspect of the movie. In a conversation on the At Your Service podcast, Gerwig spoke about the pressure of being bold with the movie and how it’s filled her with “terror”. She said, “It was terrifying. I think that was a big part of it. I think there’s something about starting from that place where it’s like, ‘Well, anything is possible!’ It felt like vertigo starting to write it. Like, where do you even begin? What would be the story? That feeling that I had was knowing that it would be really interesting terror.”
Gerwig continued: “Usually that’s where the best stuff is. When you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender,’ then you’re like, ‘Ok, I probably should do it.'” Gerwig is the director behind Lady Bird and Little Women, both drama movies which received huge critical acclaim, so we’re sure that Barbie is going to continue in that vein and be a huge success.
The Barbie movie will release alongside Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer film film on July 21 2023. So, we don’t have too long to wait before we find out whether or not Gerwig’s risks have paid off.