Anne Hathaway Is Relieved Her Barbie Film Was Never Made
"Barbie" was, by all metrics, one of the biggest movies of 2023 — or even of the past few years. A critical darling directed by Greta Gerwig and co-written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the film handily made $1 billion at the box office mere weeks after its release and set new records in the process. Its star and executive producer Margot Robbie earned a huge bonus thanks to the film's success. Gerwig became the first solo female director to helm a billion-dollar movie. One would think that any of the actresses attached to the long-gestating project might feel like they missed out by not getting involved. Anne Hathaway, who was one part of a Sony-helmed version of "Barbie," said that as far as she's concerned, she's glad her version of the movie didn't get made.
"What's so exciting about what Greta and Margot and that phenomenal team [did] is they hit a bullseye," Hathaway said during an interview on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast (per Variety). "The bullseye caused the entire world to reach this level of ecstasy. Now imagine that version ... that much energy, that much anticipation, that much emotion ... but it's not the right version. I actually think of it as a lucky thing [it didn't get made]."
Praising Robbie, Hathaway continued, saying that the industry sorely needed the version of "Barbie" crafted by Robbie and Gerwig: "What [Robbie] is doing as a creative person and a producer is so exciting and inspiring. The mythic giants they toppled with ['Barbie'] that have kept certain narratives in place that have not allowed opportunities to develop for so many people ... they ran straight through it! Just as a cinemagoer and as a woman in Hollywood since I was a kid, I'm thrilled by the development."
Anne Hathaway knows her take on Barbie just couldn't match the one created by Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie
Ultimately, Anne Hathaway has no regrets about not leading the "Barbie" movie, which was only a possibility for her after comedian Amy Schumer left the Sony version before Hathaway even signed on. Schumer, for her part, has been extremely vocal about how Sony's take on the historic doll wasn't for her. The plot of her film — and presumably Hathaway's — would have centered around a Barbie doll expelled from Barbie Land for not being physically beautiful enough. Schumer was also open about how the studio sent her a pair of designer shoes as a gift and wanted Barbie to invent a high heel made out of Jell-O.
Based on the version the world did get, where Margot Robbie's Barbie experiences an existential crisis and must find the root of it in the real world, Greta Gerwig and Robbie created the best possible version of Barbie. Hathaway agreed with that thought pretty readily on "Happy Sad Confused," and thinks it bodes well for more female voices in the entertainment industry.
"If I believed that the version I was attached to could have done that, I might feel differently about it, but I genuinely think their film was the best possible version," Hathaway said on the podcast. "It's 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! I think it will probably make things better."
Anne Hathaway had other near-misses in her career, but has zero regrets
When it comes to projects that just didn't work out for whatever reason — whether it was timing or something else — Hathaway expressed nothing but gratitude that she's earned major roles in her career. "You learn to just go ... the right role finds the right person, and sometimes it's you and sometimes not," she mused. "When it doesn't happen, trust deeper and keep going ... it sounds maybe corny but you really do have to keep it grateful."
A perfect example of this came up when Hathaway told host Josh Horowitz that she almost appeared in a "Spider-Man" project — specifically, "Spider-Man 4," which would have put Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire back behind and in front of the camera, respectively. When the franchise was rebooted with Andrew Garfield, that sequel was scrapped, and as Hathaway points out, it could have prevented her from scoring another huge superhero movie role — Selina Kyle (or Catwoman) in 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises."
"If ['Spider-Man 4'] had gotten made, I don't know if I would've been considered for ['The Dark Knight Rises']," Hathaway said. "Perhaps [Christopher Nolan] would've said, 'No, she's occupied in another universe.'"
Anne Hathaway's latest film "Eileen" is in theaters now.