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Toymaker Mattel and movie studio Warner Bros on
Tuesday announced they were partnering to make the film, which
will star the Oscar-nominated actress. Robbie, 28, will also
co-produce the film, the companies said in a statement
No plot, title or release date was announced for the film, which
comes 60 years after the adult-figured Barbie fashion doll was
launched in March 1959.
Robbie, who was Oscar-nominated for her starring role in the
2017 ice-skating movie "I, Tonya" and who appeared in the 2016
superhero movie "Suicide Squad," said she hoped the film would
"have a tremendously positive impact on children and audiences
worldwide."
"Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational
roles from a princess to president," the actress said in a
statement.
Barbie has adopted more than 200 careers in her lifetime,
including robotics engineer, astronaut and teacher.
She is the best-known doll in the world and a cultural icon
celebrated by the likes of Andy Warhol, the Paris Louvre museum,
and the 1997 satirical song "Barbie Girl" by Scandinavian pop
group Aqua.
But critics said her curvy body promoted an unrealistic image
for young girls, and sales began dropping in 2014, leading
California-based Mattel to add a wider variety of skin tones,
body shapes, hijab-wearing dolls and science kits to make the
products more educational.
The live-action Barbie film is the first venture from the
recently established Mattel Films unit set up in September to
develop the franchise of Barbie and other toys, such as Hot
Wheels and American Girl.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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