Amy Schumer Revealed She Was First Cast as Barbie and the Real Reason Why She Left

The live-action version of Barbie will not be released until this summer, but the second trailer was posted recently, allowing us a brand-new look at the upcoming movie. At the same time, many people have discovered that the famous actress and comedian, Amy Schumer, could have played the lead role instead of Margot Robbie. Citing scheduling conflicts, Schumer backed out of the production in 2017, but she only shed light on the real reason she left just recently.

Although Barbie is coming to the big screen in July, the concept of the film is more than a decade old.

The forthcoming Barbie film has undergone several transformations since 2009 and has changed hands among multiple intellectual property holders at least 3 times. Initially, Mattel signed a deal with Universal Pictures, but eventually pivoted to Sony Pictures in 2014 following some setbacks.

Sony made some tweaks to the concept, but when their option agreement expired in 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures swooped in and secured the rights. It wasn’t until Warner Bros. took over that actress Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig became part of the project.

Amy Schumer was cast as Barbie back in 2016, but never got to film a scene.

Toward the end of 2016, Amy Schumer was cast in the lead role of the Barbie movie by Sony, and she was also set to co-write the screenplay. However, Schumer didn’t get the chance to shoot any scenes for the film, and she withdrew from the project 4 months later. The actress and comedian attributed her exit from the production to scheduling conflicts.

Years later, the I Feel Pretty star revealed the real reason why she left the production.

Amy Schumer opened up in 2022 about her departure from the Barbie film, revealing that creative differences were the actual cause, in contrast to her earlier statement about scheduling conflicts. According to Schumer, she had a specific vision for the film that didn’t align with the studio’s direction.

“They definitely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it,” she said. She also disclosed that she proposed for Barbie to be an inventor in the film, but the studio offered an alternative idea of her creating a pair of high heels made out of Jell-O.

As the lead actress and co-writer of the Barbie movie script, it was essential for Schumer to realize her creative vision. However, when it became apparent that her vision could not be executed, she made the difficult decision to exit the project.

The tipping point occurred when the studio sent her a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes to commemorate her casting announcement, which was a gesture that did not sit well with her. In her words, “The idea that that’s just what every woman must want, right there, I should have gone, ‘You’ve got the wrong gal.’”