We love a Black woman in charge! Issa Rae is starring in Greta Grewig’s new highly anticipated live-action movie, Barbie, and she’s taking us to #BarbieLand.
The producer and actress posted on Instagram sharing the announcement of her new role with her supporters. In the post, Rae includes her character poster and the trailer, captioned “Hey, President Barbie!” hinting that she will take on the role in the film and we are here for it! The younger Black girl in us is screaming!
In her character poster, Rae demonstrates the perfect Barbie with her bright smile, long curly hair, and signature Barbie pose, the pageant wave.
The trailer opens up with a shot of what is #BarbieLand. Then it cuts to Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, who star as classic Barbie and Ken, and other familiar actors who play different Barbies and Kens saying hello to each other. It also confirms Rae’s role as President Barbie in one scene where she is shown holding a pink gravel and says, “OK ladies, let’s do this!”
Though we don’t know the full plot of the film just yet, Gerwig’s summary reads, “To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.”
We do know who will make up the star-studded cast. In addition to Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the film also features Simu Lui, Ncuti Gatwa, America Ferrara, Dua Lipa, Will Farrell, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Kate McKinnon, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, and many more.
The @Barbie official Instagram dropped more character posters confirming there will be multiple Barbies and Kens in the film, like Dua Lip who will play a mermaid Barbie, Simu Lui, who is just another Ken, Alexandra Shipp who is a celebrated author Barbie, and more. It’s safe to say there is a Barbie for everyone in this film.
In July 2022, Rae did an interview with The TODAY Show and revealed how Gerwig convinced her to do the role after pitching her the story. “I was like, ‘This sounds crazy, but OK. Let me just read the script.’” After reading the script, The Insecure star had a better understanding of Gerwig’s vision for the film and decided to join the cast. In the interview, the RapSh!t creator also shared her thoughts on filming with the cast. “It was the best experience. It was so fun, from the top down. From Margot to Greta, everyone was incredible!”
Barbie will hit theaters just in time for the summer on July 21, 2023.