America Ferrera joins Greta Gerwig's Barbie feature
Ferrera will star in the forthcoming film alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling
America Ferrera’s packing her bags and heading for Barbie world as she joins the Barbie film adaptation. The Ugly Betty and Superstore star joins the cast alongside the film’s already-announced Barbie and Ken—Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. The three will live a life in plastic for Greta Gerwig’s film, which is based on the script written by the Little Women director and her partner Noah Baumbach.
Ferrera shared the news on Instagram, writing, “Come on Barbie, let’s go party.”
And that’s kind of all the news we have. It’s not been shared what role Ferrera will be playing in the world of Barbie, and plot details for the feature are still wrapped up in their original packaging. However, what is known is that the film will be a live-action take on the plastic doll—a first for Mattel.
It’s been a long road to get Barbie where it is now, and with this news it seems like, this time around, the film might actually come to fruition. Murmurs about the feature first began in 2009, with no further action until 2014 when Diablo Cody signed on to write the script.
At one point Anne Hathaway was set to lead, then it was Amy Schumer, before the role finally landed on Robbie. Schumer was also going to co-write the script with Community writer Hilary Winston, before the task was ultimately handed over to Gerwig and Baumbach.
Gerwig signed on as the director, and now shooting is expected to start this year.
Ferrera is currently set to make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of Erika Sánchez’s novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. She’s also starring in the Apple TV+ limited series WeCrashed alongside Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway.
As of right now, Barbie is slated for a 2023 theatrical release.