Movies
Saoirse Ronan Drops Out Of The Barbie Movie & She's "Gutted"
The actor has appeared in Gerwig’s two previous films.
Saoirse Ronan won’t be a Barbie girl.
The Oscar-winning nominated actor told People that her plans to appear in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie were thwarted by a scheduling conflict. “I was supposed to do a cameo because I live in London and they were [filming] there,” she said, adding that she wasn’t able to make an appearance due to her new film The Outrun filming in Scotland at the same time.
Not much is known about the exact storyline of Gerwig’s new film, which she co-wrote with her partner Noah Baumbach, other than the fact that it’s centered on the popular Mattel doll that filled our youth, and many of the people involved have proclaimed it to be one of the best scripts they’ve ever read. Margot Robbie will star in the titular role alongside Ryan Gosling as Barbie’s boyfriend Ken, who famously gave a confusing description of the upcoming movie. “It’s not what you think it is, unless it is,” he said of the movie. “And then you know what it is. But I don’t think that’s what you think it is.”
The film also has a sprawling, star-studded cast including Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, Hari Nef, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emerald Fennell, Rhea Perlman, and more. The production has been tight-lipped about the characters that these stars will play.
But now, Ronan has revealed what her would-be role looked like. “There was a whole character I was going to play — another Barbie,” Ronan revealed. “I was gutted I couldn't do it.” Ronan and Gerwig previously teamed up with the Oscar-nominated films Little Women in 2019 and Lady Bird in 2017, and this will mark the first time that Ronan won’t appear in a Gerwig-directed film.
All hope is not lost yet, though — at least for Ronan, who seems determined to find a way onto the Barbie set even as an uncredited extra. “I have texted Margot and Greta and I’m like, ‘If you're doing any pick-up [shots], maybe I can just walk through the background?’” Ronan joked. Nef shared a post in July 2022 indicating that production had wrapped, but maybe some Barbie magic can happen in post-production.
Barbie is due out in theaters next summer on July 21, 2023, and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for a rogue Ronan in the background. Until then, you can find Ronan in the slapstick mystery film See How They Run alongside Sam Rockwell and Adrien Brody, which will be in theaters on Sept. 23.
