Barbie: Liu Joins Margot Robbie in Gerwig’s Movie

Liu Joins Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’

Simu Liu Barbie
Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP

 

The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star has been cast in Barbie, an upcoming Warner movie based on the popular doll.

Oscar nominee Margot Robbie is playing Barbie and Ryan Gosling is playing her boy toy Ken.

It is not clear who Liu or America Ferrera will portray in the live-action film.

Greta Gerwig is directing the movie from a script she wrote with long-time partner Noah Baumbach.

Plot details have been kept under wraps.

Barbie, in the works since 2019, is expected to start production in early 2022 at the Warner Leavesden studio in London.

It’s slated to hit theaters sometime in 2023.

Gerwig and Baumbach have collaborated on several films, including “Frances Ha” and “Mistress America.”

Gerwig stepped behind the camera solo for 2017’s coming-of-age story Lady Bird and Little Women remake, both of which landed best picture nominations at the Oscars.

In addition to starring as Barbie, Robbie will produce the film through her production company LuckyChap. LuckyChap executive Tom Ackerley, Mattel Films executive Robbie Brenner and filmmaker David Heyman will also serve as producers.

Before he became one of Marvel’s newest superheroes, Liu was best known for playing Jung Kim on the Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience.

The show, which ran for five seasons, gained a bigger following in the U.S. when it later landed on Netflix. He also appeared in episodes of “Orphan Black” and “Fresh Off the Boat” preceding his big break in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” The comic book adventure debuted in the fall of 2021 and turned into a box office hit (by pandemic standards), generating $224 million domestically and $432 million globally. Prior to entering Barbie’s world, Liu will star in Lionsgate’s canine adventure “Arthur the King” opposite Mark Wahlberg.