Anne Hathaway on Almost Playing Barbie: “Right Roles Find the Right Person”

The first live-action ‘Barbie‘ film was initially announced with Amy Schumer, later replaced by Anne Hathaway for Sony. Originally set for June 2018, Australian filmmaker Alethea Jones was in talks to direct, with a concept akin to ‘Splash,’ ‘Enchanted,’ and ‘Big.’ Schumer polished the script, portraying Barbie as kicked out of Barbieland for imperfections, and embarking on a real-world adventure. However, the project never materialized, leading Margot Robbie to acquire the movie rights and bring it to Warner Bros.

Hathaway shared on the latest ‘Happy Sad Confused‘ podcast that she nearly starred as Barbie for Sony before the project was scrapped.

Hathaway said, “You learn to just go… The right role finds the right person, and sometimes it’s you and sometimes not.” Hathaway added, “When it doesn’t happen, trust deeper and keep going… It sounds maybe corny, but you really do have to keep it grateful.”

Anne Hathaway Cheers Margot Robbie and Celebrates Success of ‘Barbie’ Project

Hathaway praises Margot Robbie, saying she’s ‘sublime’ and admires her creative and producing work. She celebrates the success of their ‘Barbie’ project, thrilled by the positive impact on Hollywood and the opportunities it brings for women.

Hathaway said, “Margot is sublime.” Hathaway added, “What she is doing as a creative person and a producer is so exciting and inspiring. The mythic giants they toppled with [‘Barbie’] have kept certain narratives in place that have not allowed opportunities to develop for so many people … they ran straight through it! Just as a cinemagoer and as a woman in Hollywood since I was a kid, I’m thrilled by the development. If I believed that the version I was attached to could have done that, I might feel differently about it, but I genuinely think their film was the best possible version. It’s easy just to be thrilled [for them]. I love watching women kill it. To do so well, so undeniably that they had to write new records … come on! I think it will probably make things better.”

Greta Gerwig initially chose Gal Gadot for Barbie, but she declined due to a scheduling conflict, despite Robbie’s interest in casting her. In an interview with Flaunt Magazine, Gadot said, “I adore Margot.” Gadot added, “Margot is one of those women who you just want to be friends with,” she continues, saying she saw her “the other week,” where they spoke about Robbie’s comments. “She is so funny, warm, fun, smart and obviously so talented. She brings so much to the table. I would love to do anything with Margot, and was very touched [by her comments]. She warmed my heart with everything that she said about me. I’m super excited for them, and I’m so excited for Barbie.”

‘Barbie’ has grossed $1 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film directed by a woman. Only two movies, ‘Barbie’ and ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie,’ have reached the $1 billion mark this year. The audience score for ‘Barbie’ is impressive across various platforms: Rotten Tomatoes gives it a solid 90% with an average rating of 4.5/5, CinemaScore rates it as an ‘A,’ Postrak rates it 4.5/5, and Metacritic scores it at 5.1/10. Read our review.