It was recently revealed that Kate McKinnon had joined the cast of Greta Gerwig’s live-action Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie in the titular role and Ryan Gosling as Ken. Speaking recently to Jimmy Fallon, McKinnon had nothing but praise for Gerwig, who was her NYU college dormmate. Production is set to start this month.
Not much is yet known about the Barbie movie, other than the fact that Gerwig and her partner Noah Baumbach have co-written the script. Gerwig and Baumbach previously co-wrote the scripts for Frances Ha and Mistress America (both of which were directed by Baumbach and starred Gerwig). Gerwig also wrote and directed Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), which were both nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
In addition to Robbie, Gosling and McKinnon – America Ferrera and Simu Liu have also been cast in unspecified roles. An unofficial synopsis on IMDb reads; “A doll living in Barbieland is expelled for not being perfect enough and sets off an adventure in the real world.” This should be taken with a pinch of salt, as we’ve been told to expect the unexpected.
Speaking to Fallon, McKinnon said; “A Greta Gerwig Barbie movie – I can’t believe my good fortune! I went to college with Greta, we lived in the same disgusting dorm suite. The script is one of the greatest things I’ve ever read, it’s going to be (makes chef’s kiss sign), just you wait.”
Speaking to Time Out in 2015, Gerwig said that she was in an improv theatre troupe in college with McKinnon; “It was called the Tea Party before the Tea Party. The most illustrious member of this group was Kate McKinnon. We were in the same class and did theatre and stuff together, and we got rejected from the main improv group. So then we started our own improv group and would hold our shows at the exact same time so that people would have to choose who they wanted to be friends with more. It was hilarious. I love improv. I would love doing it again.”
While we wait to find out more about the Barbie movie, check out our guides to the best drama movies and the best comedy movies – as knowing Gerwig and Baumbach, their version of Barbie will be a little of both.