Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Movie Is Looking More Fascinating With Every Casting Announcement

Lady Bird and Little Women writer/director Greta Gerwig’s third solo outing is this time around co-written with her partner, Noah Baumbach. However, that detail is a small aspect compared to the project itself; this is the first live-action film about Barbie, based on the Mattel fashion doll of the same name. Aside from the announcement and comments from production that the film with subvert expectations (which there are plenty thanks to the legacy of the dolls and their animated depictions), every new cast member added has increased interest in the film. Check out the highlights of the confirmed cast members below.

The Birds of Prey star seems like an easy choice for Barbie, but her performances rarely disappoint, so she’s essentially perfect for the role!

Ryan Gosling is overdue to return to acting (as Ken!) after his last leading appearance in 2018’s First Man.

The rest of the cast has less defined roles, but each one is a welcome familiar face. America Ferrera has mostly appeared on TV in her career, with her last leading role on NBC’s Superstore.

Fresh off his Marvel success as Shang-Chi, it’ll be nice to see Simu Liu in a non-superhero acting role.

This recognizable face has mostly done commercials since 2019, though she was just seen on Joe vs. Carole as the infamous Carole Baskin.

There are quite a few places where you might have seen this supporting actress, but the last one coming to mind is her performance as Jonathan Larson’s girlfriend in tick, tick... BOOM!.

Sex Education star Emma Mackey was nominated for a BAFTA award for her performance, but it went to her costar Aimee Lou Wood instead.

Probably the most recognizable face of the bunch, Ferrell’s involvement was just announced but he is always welcome in any capacity.

Rae’s incredible recent show Insecure just concluded, and it looked like she was getting into more film acting roles pre-pandemic.

Always a welcome surprise, Michael Cera has been out of film acting since 2018, but his recent main cast appearance in Amy Schumer’s Life & Beth showed he was back.

This model was the first openly transgender woman to appear on the cover of a major British magazine and broke into acting through a recurring role in Transparent.

Though the name might not sound familiar, you have probably seen this actor’s face in Peaky Blinders, The OA, or One Night in Miami where he starred as Malcolm X.

The famous Cheers actress has stayed consistently active since the height of her fame, even if she never had as high-profile of a role.

Another Sex Education star! Gatwa currently has three BAFTA nominations for his role.

The showrunner of Killing Eve season 2 and writer/director of Promising Young Woman has also been known to act periodically.

The younger brother of Chris Evans currently holds a recurring role on Grace & Frankie.

ANOTHER Sex Education star! Swindells doesn’t have any high-profile nominations for his performance but was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for “Best Kiss” along with costar Ncuti Gatwa.

With this wide range of folks on board and the legacy of the film’s subject, this film is pretty much guaranteed to get people into the theater at this point. Barbie will allegedly come out in 2023.