Dua Lipa, Helen Mirren and Ncuti Gatwa join cast of live-action Barbie film

Michael Cera, Issa Rae and Emma Mackey are among the other stars.
Dua Lipa stars as a mermaid Barbie (Ian West/PA)
PA Wire
Alex Green4 April 2023

Dua Lipa is set to star as a mermaid Barbie while Dame Helen Mirren will voice the narrator in the upcoming live-action film about the world-famous doll, a social media announcement said.

The film, from Oscar-nominated actress and director Greta Gerwig, will also see Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa take on the role of guitar-playing Ken and Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan as a diplomat Barbie.

Other casting includes Ana Cruz Kayne as a Supreme Court Justice Barbie, The Crown’s Emerald Fennell as Midge, Barbie’s best friend, and Scott Evans as a cowboy hat-wearing Ken.

Michael Cera will appear as Ken’s friend Allan, Issa Rae will play a president Barbie and Sex Education star Emma Mackey will portray a Barbie with a Nobel Prize in physics.

Human characters will be played Ugly Betty actress America Ferrera, Elf actor Will Ferrell, Stath Lets Flats star Jamie Demetriou and Sex Education’s Connor Swindells.

The stars, who announced their roles mainly on Instagram, will join Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling who have the starring roles of Barbie and Ken Doll.

Gerwig co-wrote the script with her husband, the filmmaker director Noah Baumbach, who directed 2005’s The Squid And The Whale and 2019’s Marriage Story.

The film is set for release on July 21 and a trailer released in December opened with a comical parody of classic science-fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Filmmaker Gerwig, 39, was nominated for the best director and best original screenplay at the Academy Awards for 2017 coming-of-age drama Lady Bird and scored a nod for best adapted screenplay with 2019’s Little Women.

The film is a joint project between Warner Bros and Barbie manufacturer Mattel.

The brand, which was launched in 1959, has previously seen animated adaptations including Barbie In The Nutcracker, Barbie As Rapunzel and Barbie Of Swan Lake.

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