Margot Robbie's live-action Barbie movie adds Will Ferrell and Emma Mackey

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The Greta Gerwig film will also star Simu Liu and Ryan Gosling

Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey
(Image credit: Sony Pictures/Netflix)

Will Ferrell and Emma Mackey have been cast opposite Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig's live-action Barbie movie.

Written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the fantasy drama – which is currently filming in London – sees Robbie's titular doll get booted out of Barbieland for not being perfect enough, before setting off on an adventure in the real world.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ferrell has been geared up to play "the CEO of a toy company that may or not be Mattel", while details of Mackey's character remains under wraps.

Mackey and Robbie's likeness has been a much talked about topic since the former rose to fame playing Maeve in Netflix's Sex Education, leading some fans to assume that Mackey will portray another doll in the film. It has also prompted them to call for the casting of other actors who have been compared to both Mackey and Robbie, such as Jaime Pressly and Ready or Not star Samara Weaving.

"All #Barbie needs is Samara Weaving to complete the trilogy with Emma Mackey and Margot Robbie," one Twitter user wrote in response to the news, while another joked: "My pitch was Robbie, Mackey, Samara Weaving, and Jaimie Pressly as different Barbie dolls who team up to pull of a heist at the Malibu Dream House."

Outside of Sex Education, Mackey has appeared in titles such as The Winter Lake and Death on the Nile. Ferrell's most notable credits include Blades of Glory, Step Brothers, and Anchorman.

Amy West
Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.