Ryan Gosling To Play Ken In Margot Robbie’s ‘Barbie’ Movie (Reports)

Margot Robbie’s big-screen Barbie has found her Ken.

Ryan Gosling is in final talks to join his fellow Oscar nominee in writer-director Greta Gerwig’s upcoming live-action film about the iconic Mattel couple, according to multiple outlets.

Deadline was first to report the news on Friday, citing sources who said that an opening in Ryan’s schedule has permitted him to sign on after he previously passed due to overlapping projects. Reps for the A-lister have not publicly commented.

The movie has been in the works for more than two years amid pre-production delays throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Greta co-wrote the script with partner Noah Baumbach and was confirmed to direct over the summer.

If Ryan’s deal goes through, filming is reportedly slated to begin early next year.

Though plot details remain under wraps, both Margot, who is also set to produce, and Greta have promised that any preconceived notions about the title character don’t bear weight on the contemporary adaptation.

“People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ‘Oh, well, maybe I don’t,'” Margot told British Vogue for their August 2021 issue.

The “Little Women” and “Ladybird” filmmaker shared a similar take with The Hollywood Reporter late last year, teasing that she and Margot are planning for a “left of center” spin on the household name.

“[P]eople immediately have an idea of, ‘Oh, Margot is playing Barbie, I know what that is,’ but our goal is to be like, ‘Whatever you’re thinking, we’re going to give you something totally different — the thing you didn’t know you wanted.”

— Erin Biglow