At this point, it will be more surprising to hear someone won’t be in the upcoming film Barbie. Every day the film’s ensemble cast grows more and more. Today, Deadline is reporting the latest cast addition is the up-and-coming British actress Marisa Abela.
Abela entered the scene recently when she had a recurring role in the British drama series COBRA. She is also currently starring in the critically acclaimed HBO and BBC Drama Industry, whose second season is scheduled to premiere later this summer. Abela will be seen soon in the upcoming thriller Freegard alongside Gemma Arterton, Sarah Goldberg, and James Norton as well as the drama She Is Love with Haley Bennett, Sam Riley, and Michael Smiley. The nature of Abela’s role in Barbie is currently being kept under wraps.
Details about the film’s plot have been kept quiet other than it being about the titular doll from Mattel. What is known about the film is that Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling will be playing Barbie and Ken, respectively.
Barbie is set to be the next film from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Greta Gerwig. Gerwig previously directed critically acclaimed films such as Lady Bird and Little Women. The film was also been written by Gerwig with fellow Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Noah Baumbach, who is known for the films Marriage Story and The Squid and the Whale. Previously, the pair wrote the critically acclaimed Francis Ha together.
Barbie is very quickly gaining a reputation for having one of the most star-studded casts in recent years. Abela is not only joining Robbie and Gosling in the film but is also joining America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Will Ferrell, Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, Alexandra Shipp, Issa Rae, Michael Cera, Hari Nef, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, Jamie Demetriou, and with even more likely to be announced before the film arrives.
Barbie is being produced by Robbie and Tom Ackerley under their LuckyChap Entertainment production banner with Mattel’s Robbie Brenner and Heyday Films’ David Heyman. Additionally, LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara and Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz are serving as executive producers on the project.
Filming on Barbie is currently underway. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on July 21, 2023. Stay tuned to Collider for any future updates on this project.
