The live-action adaptation of Barbie, which stars Margot Robbie as the titular character and Ryan Gosling as Ken, her male counterpart, will waltz into theaters next month. However, before Robbie signed on to play the character, stand-up comedian and actress Amy Schumer was the one billed to bring it to life.
In 2016, the film’s rights belonged to Sony Pictures and the studio cast Schumer as the titular character. The entertainment behemoth also commissioned a screenplay from Hillary Winston, who wrote The Bad Guys and The Lego Ninjago Movie.
As it happens, Schumer and her sister, Kim Caramele, who is a screenwriter and producer, were not satisfied with the film’s script and made plans to rewrite it to their taste. The film didn’t see the light of day, though, as Schumer announced her departure several months later.
When she left, the Trainwreck star said that it was because of scheduling conflicts.
In her words, "Sadly, I’m no longer able to commit to Barbie due to scheduling conflicts. The film has so much promise, and Sony and Mattel have been great partners. I’m bummed, but look forward to seeing Barbie on the big screen."
Scheduling conflicts happen all the time in Hollywood and have been the reason we have been deprived of some iconic performances and benefited from others so Schumer’s excuse made sense.
However, she lied.
Apparently, Schumer didn’t drop out as Barbie’s star because of scheduling conflicts but for a different reason entirely. The 42-year-old mother of one admitted this during a recent interview with Watch What Happens Live.
She said, "I can’t wait to see the movie, it looks awesome. I think we said it was scheduling conflicts, that’s what we said. But yeah, it really was just creative differences. But you know, there’s a new team behind it, and it looks like it’s very feminist and cool so I will be seeing the movie."
Sony lost the film’s rights in 2018 and Warner Bros. picked it up. Robbie was confirmed as the titular character in 2019 but even she had to fight for her vision for the film. For one, the film’s director Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach, came on board because of her influence.
By the way, John Cena will play one of many versions of Ken in the film. During a recent interview on The Today Show, the smoking hot wrestler and former rapper said that his casting in the film was an accident, albeit a happy one.
We should mention that Mattel and Hasbro recently signed an agreement that will see both of them manufacture toys and games that carry the other’s brand. The two toy-makers did this to capitalize on the upcoming releases of films, Barbie and Transformers, centered around their IPs.
Barbie will open in theaters on July 21.
