After months of speculation, the Barbie movie finally confirmed beloved pop star Dua Lipa as part of the cast. The official announcement comes with a delicious surprise, as Barbie’s official Twitter account revealed Dua Lipa will be playing a mermaid version of the beloved doll in the upcoming live-action movie.
Amassing millions of fans worldwide, Dua Lipa is one of the most talented pop singers ever. The 27-year-old singer and songwriter has already snatched dozens of accolades in her brilliant career, including six Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Besides appearing in Barbie, the star will also appear in Matthew Vaughn's spy thriller Argylle opposite Henry Cavill. So, even though Dua Lipa has already shown up in Saturday Night Live, 2023 is turning up to be a huge Hollywood debut for the singer.
Dua Lipa is not the only big star to get a shining Barbie character poster. We’ve known for a while that the upcoming live-action movie is expected to feature multiple versions of the titular doll and her companion Ken. However, it seems like the movie is really leaning over the wacky concept by featuring a diverse cast of Barbies and Kens occupying the most diverse job descriptions. For instance, while the cast is led by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the new posters reveal Emma Mackey will play a Barbie who won a Nobel Prize in Physics and Issa Rae will play a version of the doll who’s President.
The star-studded cast of Barbie also features Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Will Ferrell (The Anchorman), America Ferrera (Superstore), Ariana Greenblatt (Borderlands), Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education), Hari Nef (Transparent), Michael Cera (Superbad), Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Dark Phoenix), Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami...), Rhea Perlman (Cheers), Emerald Fennell (The Crown), Sharon Rooney (Dumbo), Scott Evans (Grace and Frankie), Ana Cruz Kayne (Little Women), Connor Swindells (Sex Education), Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy), Jamie Demetriou (Fleabag), and Marisa Abela (Industry).
When Is Barbie Coming to Theaters?
Barbie is written by director Greta Gerwig along with Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story). In a recent interview, Ferrell said the movie would be a satire on patriarchy, which the recent posters confirm. After all, every version of Barbie has an iconic job title, while all the actors playing Ken are just Ken. Barbie’s first trailer also didn’t reveal much about the story, instead focusing on spoofing 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Barbie is set to hit theaters on July 21, 2023. Check out the new batch of character posters and watch the trailer down below.