The 'Wolf of Wall Street' actress is in talks to star in the upcoming feature film which has now moved to Warner Bros., with the 'Wonder Woman' director circling the project.
- Oct 6, 2018
AceShowbiz - Margot Robbie is close to becoming a real-life Barbie. The "Suicide Squad" star is in negotiations to take the lead role in an upcoming live-action movie based on the popular Mattel toy which is currently in development at Warner Bros., according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Should the deal be sealed, the 28-year-old Australian actress will also produce the project through her LuckyChap banner. "Wonder Woman" helmer Patty Jenkins is reportedly eying the directing role, but sources tell the site that "no substantive talks" have taken place.
The project has been in development for years and was initially set up at Sony. Amy Schumer was initially tapped to play the titular character in what was aimed to be "a contemporary spin with an emphasis on feminism and identity."
The story was said to follow a character who gets kicked out of the perfect Barbieland because she doesn't quite fit the mold. After she's exiled, she sets a journey to the real world and eventually discovers that being unique is an asset.
The "Trainwreck" star faced backlash from body shamers following her casting news and she quickly hit back at the internet trolls. A few months later, though, she dropped out of the project, citing scheduling conflicts. She was initially expected to re-write an existing script with her sister Kim Caramele.
In July 2017, it was reported that Anne Hathaway was eyed as a replacement, but it was never confirmed. Sony later pushed back the release date from August 8, 2018 to May 8, 2020. The rights to Barbie, however, reverted back to Mattel a few months later, and the toy company apparently decided to team up with another studio for the feature-film project.
Robbie was last seen in neo-noir thriller "Terminal" which was released in summer this year. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in 2017's "I, Tonya". She is currently filming Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", in which she portrays Sharon Tate, and is set to reprise her role as Harley Quinn in "Suicide Squad" spin-off "Birds of Prey".
