Barbie: Margot Robbie thought Hollywood would never let them make the movie

Given how long it took to get the Barbie movie off the ground, it’s remarkable that it happened at all, and Margot Robbie is still shocked that the film will see the light of day.

“The first time I read the Barbie script, my reaction was, ‘Ah! This is so good. What a shame it will never see the light of day,” Margot Robbie told BAFTA (via IndieWire). “Because they are never going to let us make this movie. But they did!”

Margot Robbie isn’t the only one who expressed doubt that the Barbie movie would get made, as director Greta Gerwig spoke of the difficult task of developing the movie while speaking with Dua Lipa on the At Your Service podcast last year; In fact, she even thought the movie would be a career-ender if it didn’t work out. “It was something that was exciting because it was terrifying,” Gerwig said. “I think that was a big part of it, like: ‘Oh, no, Barbie.’ It felt like vertigo, starting to write it, like: ‘Where do you even begin, and what would be the story?’ And I think it was that feeling I had was knowing that it would be really interesting terror. Usually that’s where the best stuff is, where you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender’ — then you’re like, ‘I should probably do it.’“

Thanks to the recent teaser trailers, we’re beginning to see what type of movie Barbie could be, but there’s a lot we still don’t know. “To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place,” reads the official description. “Unless you have a full-on existential crisis.  Or you’re a Ken.” The film also boasts quite the stacked cast. In addition to Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, the movie also features America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Ana Cruz Kayne, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Aryya, Dua Lipa, and Helen Mirren. Greta Gerwig directed the Barbie movie and penned the script alongside Noah Baumbach.

Barbie will hit theaters on July 21st.