Anne Hathaway and Margot Robbie as Barbie
Anne Hathaway has played the role of most iconic movie roles, from The Princess Diaries to The Devil Wears Prada. That said, she was also originally in talks to play one of the most memorable film characters this year, Barbie.
Hathaway was initially tapped to portray another iteration of Barbie. In 2017, she was in negotiations to lead a Barbie movie directed by Alethea Jones after Amy Schumer dropped out of the project.
However, after a year, Sony lost the rights to the film, forcing Warner Bros. and Margot Robbie’s production to pitch its version of the movie with Greta Gerwig as co-writer and director.
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Hathaway shared that it’s a lucky thing her version didn’t materialize because Robbie and Gerwig’s team made an excellent result, noting that theirs was the best possible version.
“Margot and Greta. They hit the bullseye, and the bullseye caused the entire world to reach this level of ecstasy. So, I actually think of it as a lucky thing, and as I mentioned, I think that Margot is just sublime, period,” the actress explained.
“I’m thrilled by the development, and if I believed that the version that I was attached to could’ve done that, I might feel differently about it, but I genuinely think theirs was the best possible version,” Hathaway added.
Aside from Hathaway and Schumer, Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot and Lady Bird actress Saoirse Ronan were also in talks to play the most famous doll. It was reported that Gadot was not available for the part, while Ronan insisted she couldn’t do the role.
“I was supposed to do a cameo because I live in London and they were [filming] there,” Ronan told People Magazine. “There was a whole character I was going to play—another Barbie. I was gutted I couldn’t do it.”
Robbie’s Barbie received worldwide acclaim with $1.3 billion in revenue. Just recently, the film received nine Golden Globe nominations.