The Barbie movie was clearly packed with ideas, but Greta Gerwig and her writing partner Noah Baumbach had even more that didn’t make the final cut. One of these cut scenes was reportedly a ‘fart opera’ which disappointingly wouldn’t fit, but there was also a planned scene involving pregnant Barbie Midge going into labor, possibly as a post-credit scene.
Pregnant Midge does briefly appear in the Barbie movie, played by Emerald Fennell – who interestingly directed the pink and feminist (but more violent) Promising Young Woman. Pregnant Midge was based on a real doll which was sold in 2002 (we were not expecting it to be that recent!) and quickly discontinued due to controversy.
The editors of Barbie apparently shared some images which revealed deleted scenes from the film (which are sure to be included on the eventual Blu-ray). One shows Midge in labor and she is being assisted by…none other than Helen Mirren. Mirren is featured throughout the movie as the voiceover narrator, but we never see her onscreen.
One of the images shared on Twitter shows a corkboard with photos from many different scenes in the film, used in the editing process to decide what order to put the scenes in. At one end, there is a bunched-up collection of photos which indicates that these were discarded scenes. Midge in labor can be seen here.
Tom Clark, who was a background dancing Ken in the movie, shared an Instagram post packed with behind-the-scenes photos and videos of the Barbie shoot. The ‘Midge in Labor’ scene can be seen, featuring Helen Mirren facing the camera in a grey sweatsuit.
It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see Mirren in the flesh in Barbie, but we’re pretty certain that there will be several deluxe – and very, very pink – home releases of the movie which will surely include deleted scenes.
For all of the Barbie girls in the Barbie world, we have plenty of content for you to check out – including a guide to the Barbie cast and of course, our Barbie review. Be sure to check out the Barbie Easter Eggs that you may have missed, and our guide to Skipper Barbie.