Anne Hathaway has insisted it’s “a lucky thing” her Barbie movie didn’t get made because it was “not the right version”.

The Barbie movie was in development for many years, with both Hathaway and Amy Schumer in the frame to play the titular character at different points.

However, the project only truly got off the ground when Margot Robbie joined as the star and producer and hired Greta Gerwig to direct and co-write the script.

During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on Monday, The Princess Diaries actress admitted the version she was attached to would not have achieved the same success as Gerwig’s.

“They hit a bullseye. The bullseye caused the entire world to reach this level of ecstasy,” Hathaway began. “Now imagine that version, that much energy, that much anticipation, that much emotion, but it’s not the right version. So I actually think of it as a lucky thing (it didn’t get made).”

She continued, “If I believed that the version that I was attached to could have done that, yeah, I might feel differently about it, but I genuinely think theirs was the best possible version. So it’s actually very easy just to be thrilled and happy (for them). I love watching women kill it. To do so well, so undeniably, that they actually had to write new records… come on!”

The Devil Wears Prada star added that she was thrilled to see a film made by women becoming the highest-grossing movie of the year and noted that its success “will probably make things better” for women in Hollywood.

Schumer revealed last year that she left her version of Barbie due to creative differences with the studio. She praised Gerwig’s movie ahead of its release in July, calling it “very feminist and cool”.

Barbie was nominated for nine Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, on Monday.

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