Margot Robbie initially thought studio executives would never let her and Greta Gerwig make their vision for the Barbie movie.

In an interview clip posted on BAFTA’s Instagram page, the actress admitted she was surprised when Warner Bros. officials agreed to make the movie based on Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s script.

“The first time I read the Barbie script, my reaction was, ‘Ah! This is so good. What a shame it will never see the light of day, because they are never going to let us make this movie.’ But they did,” she shared.

The Barbie movie was in development for many years before Robbie was cast in the lead role in 2019 and helped shepherd it into production via her LuckyChap Entertainment company. Frequent collaborators and real-life partners Gerwig and Baumbach joined the project as writers before the Little Women filmmaker decided to direct it as well.

During an appearance on Dua Lipa’s At Your Service podcast last year, Gerwig shared that writing the film seemed like a daunting prospect when Robbie reached out to her in 2020.

“I think there’s something about starting from that place where it’s like, ‘Well, anything is possible!’ It felt like vertigo starting to write it,” she commented. “Like, where do you even begin? What would be the story?

“I think it was that feeling I had that it would be really interesting terror. Usually, that’s where the best stuff is. When you’re like, ‘I am terrified of that.’ Anything where you’re like, ‘This could be a career-ender,’ then you’re like, ‘OK, I probably should do it.'”

Barbie, also starring Ryan Gosling, opens in cinemas on 21 July.

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