Our First Look at Ryan Gosling as Ken in the BARBIE Movie

Hype about the Barbie movie is heating up, and it’s just gotten hotter because we now have our first look at Ryan Gosling as Ken. He looks plastic. And it’s fantastic.

Ryan Gosling as Ken from Barbie First look
Warner Bros.

This image comes on the heels of the first look at Margot Robbie as Barbie that we got at Cinema Con. Warner Bros. introduced a number of exciting things during its panel, including the below image of the actress absolutely embodying the beloved, pink-clad doll. We don’t know much about what will happen in the Barbie movie yet, but Reynolds recently told Entertainment Tonight that “Ken’s got no money, he’s got no job, he’s got no car, he’s got no house. He’s going through some stuff.” Rough stuff.

We also now know that the movie will release in theaters July 21, 2023. Mark your calendars now and get ready to go party. This couple certainly seems like they know how to have fun.

Margot Robbie as Barbie the doll from the titular film, sitting in a miniature Cadillac, smiling.
Warner Bros.

The upcoming Barbie movie continues to fill out its cast. In addition to Robbie, Ryan Gosling is on tap to play her Ken. (He was the sole choice for the Warner Bros, LuckyChap & Mattel film, according to Deadline.) But as the world of Barbie is more than just the iconic on-again/off-again couple, the cast continues to grow. Simu Liu, America Ferrera, and Alexandra Shipp have stepped into the dream house. And now, Will Ferrell has joined the Barbie movie as well. Their roles in the Barbie movie are all currently under wraps.

Alexandra Shipp in tick... tick...BOOM!
Courtesy of Netflix
Will Ferrell screaming No in Elf, he also said no to Elf 2
Warner Bros.

In addition to the aforementioned cast, Deadline reports that Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Sharon Rooney, Scott Evans, Ana Cruz Kayne, Connor Swindells, Ritu Arya, Jamie Demetriou, Kate McKinnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, Michael Cera,  Marisa Abela, and Hari Nef will also star in the movie.

We don’t know too much about the movie, but we do know that Greta Gerwig has signed on as its director. Gerwig also co-wrote the movie’s script with Noah Baumbach. We guess Gosling makes for a fine choice to play Ken. Honestly, we don’t know too much about Ken as a person. Other than he, too, holds a lot of jobs, has a great head of hair, and loves the beach. As for what to expect from Liu, Ferrera, and Shipp’s roles, I’d be shocked if Liu wasn’t playing Ken’s fellow surfer bro. Or at least some sort of pal. The energy is just there.

Ryan Gosling in the Notebook and Ken
Warner Bros./Mattel

We have to remind you though that the top-notch Barbie movie already exists. And it stars Tyra Banks and Lindsay Lohan. If you haven’t seen Life-Size, you are truly missing out. The upcoming film might be a more mature take on the doll, for some (?) reason. But Life-Size offers almost exactly everything you’d want out of your Barbie movie. So that’s the real big shoes to fill.

Casting Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie does have its charm, however, this also feels like the right time to say a Barbie movie would be a great time to bring more representation into the brand’s spotty history. Though Barbie has made a lot of changes in the last little while, bringing those evolutions to the big screen would have clinched its efforts.

We guess we will have to stay tuned to see what other details emerge. With a cast starring Liu, Ferrera, Ferrell, and more, this Barbie movie could end up exceeding our expectations. In the meantime, we plan to blast Aqua until it’s stuck in everyone’s head. How’s that for viral marketing?

Originally published on October 22, 2021.