Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie wanted Gal Gadot to star in Barbie.
"Gal Gadot is Barbie energy," Robbie told Vogue. "Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful, because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork."
'Barbie energy' is a 'certain ineffable combination of beauty and exuberance' Gerwig and Robbie looked for during the casting process. The cast of dolls includes Issa Rae as President Barbie, Hari Nef as Doctor Barbie, Emma Mackey as Physicist Barbie, Dua Lipa as Mermaid Barbie, Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie, Ana Cruz Kayne as Judge Barbie, Alexandra Shipp as Writer Barbie, Kate McKinnon as 'Weird' Barbie, Nicola Coughlan as Diplomat Barbie, Ritu Arya as Journalist Barbie – and Emerald Fennell as Midge, a pregnant Barbie that discontinued in real-life after much controversy.
The upcoming fantasy comedy is directed by Gerwig from a script by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. Per the official logline, "After being expelled from Barbieland for being a less-than-perfect doll, Barbie (Robbie) sets off to the real world to find true happiness with a little help from Ken (Ryan Gosling)." Although Ken's usefulness remains to be seen, what with the whole, "She's Barbie, he's just Ken" tagline.
