Barbie movie lead role: Gal Godot and 2 other popular actors who were considered before Margot Robbie stepped in

Barbie, the highly awaited and brand new fantasy comedy movie, is all set to arrive in theaters on July 21, 2023, in the United States. Academy Award-nominated director Greta Gerwig has served as the director of the upcoming film, alongside acting as the screenplay writer for the movie with Noah Baumbach. The brief official synopsis for the movie, as per Rotten Tomatoes, reads as follows:

"To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken."

Oscar-nominated beloved actor Margot Robbie, who has also produced the movie, will be seen playing the titular lead role of Barbie in the new Greta Gerwig movie. However, before Margot Robbie was cast as the lead character, three other renowned actors were taken under consideration for the role. The list includes Gal Gadot, Amy Schumer, and Anne Hathaway.

---

Gal Gadot was both Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie's first choice for the lead role of Barbie

For fans, it is now quite impossible to imagine any other actor in place of Margot Robbie for the titular role of Barbie in the upcoming fantasy comedy movie, as she seems the perfect fit for the role in the recently released teaser trailer for the movie.

However, before stepping into the shoes of the movie's lead role, actor Margot Robbie preferred Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot for the titular role. Gadot was also writer and director Gerwig's first choice as the lead character in the movie. In a recent interview with Vogue, Margot Robbie revealed that she and Gerwig were looking for an actor who radiated "Barbie energy," and Gal Gadot was the first person who came to their minds.

In the Vogue interview, Margot Robbie said:

"Gal Gadot has Barbie energy,...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."

Unfortunately, Gadot was unable to commit to the lead part at the time. Thus, Robbie had to step in as the lead. However, long before Gal Gadot was approached for the character, I Feel Pretty actor Amy Schumer was originally declared as the lead for Sony's 2016 live-action Barbie film as per People.

However, in March 2017, just four months after the announcement was made, Schumer disclosed that she would no longer be a part of the movie due to scheduling conflicts.

Another fan-favorite actor who was considered for the role was Anne Hathaway, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. After Amy Schumer stepped down, Hathaway was in the talks to star as the lead role in Sony's movie, which was long in the works. However, unfortunately, this casting also did not work out because of Hathaway's conflict regarding the movie's schedule.

Eventually, in October 2018, Sony went on to lose the rights to the movie, and it was later transferred to Warner Bros. Pictures. Thereafter, Greta Gerwig was taken on board as the director and Margot Robbie was cast in the lead role.

---

Actor Ryan Gosling will be seen as Ken opposite Margot Robbie. Apart from Robbie and Gosling, the other promising cast members for the new movie include Kate McKinnon, Hari Nef, Issa Rae, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Will Ferrell, and Helen Mirren, among several other notable actors.

Don't forget to watch Barbie, which will debut in theatres in the United States, on July 21, 2023.