Will Ferrell Joins 'Barbie' Movie With Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling

Will Ferrell is going to live in Barbie's world. The ELF actor is the final big name in Hollywood added to the cast of a film centered on the popular doll. Deadline reports the film Barbie, stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrara, Kate McKinnon and Simu Liu. Greta Gerwig is directing. Robbie and Gosling will star as the Barbie and Ken pair. Ferrell's character is unknown. Gerwig is also credited with co-writing the script alongside Noah Baumbach. Details about the plot have been kept under wraps, but it's a film that's been in the making for some time.

There have been several animated series centered around Barbie. Amid low sales of the beloved doll thanks to the rise of online shopping and digital media, Mattel, the parent company behind the doll, figured animated films would be a great revitalization tool. The franchise films franchise aired regularly on Nickelodeon from 2002 to 2017. Now, many of them are available on streaming platforms. 

This will be the first non-animated on this level highlighting Barbie. Sources told The Hollywood Reporter that there is a meta aspect to the proceedings. Ferrell is rumored to be playing the CEO of a toy company that may or not be Mattel. 

Robbie is producing Barbie via her LuckyChap company, alongside LuckyChap's Tom Ackerley. Mattel Films' Robbie Brenner and Paddington producer David Heyman are also producers.

As for Ferrell, Barbie marks his first feature role since 2020's Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. That film was a product of Netflix. Ferrell recently appeared in Apple TV's The Shrink Next Door with Paul Rudd.

Barbie was first launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with creating the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration. Barbie is famous for its dolls and accessories, as well as other family member dolls, and collectible dolls.