Sharon Stone isn’t the only performer to have missed out on being plastic and fantastic. Also on this list is actor and comedian Amy Schumer, who entered negotiations to star as the titular doll in 2016 when the film was under the thumb of Sony Pictures. Her exit from the project in 2017, initially cited to be due to scheduling conflicts, was later revealed to have stemmed from creative differences. In anticipation of the Margot Robbie-starring version, Schumer told “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” “I can’t wait to see the movie. I think it looks awesome. … It looks like it’s very feminist and cool.”
In between Schumer and Robbie, “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Interstellar” star Anne Hathaway was also considered for the role but left once Sony’s rights to the Mattel brand expired in 2018. Not only was she blown away by the final product, but she believes it to be superior to her version. “They hit a bullseye,” she shared on the podcast “Happy Sad Confused.” “The bullseye caused the entire world to reach this level of ecstasy. Now imagine that much energy, that much anticipation, that much emotion, but it’s not the right version. So I actually think of it as a lucky thing.”
From Stone to Schumer to Hathaway to Robbie, getting Barbie on the big screen may have been a decades-long battle, but it’s safe to say the outcome was more than worth it.
