Barbie dolls

'Life in plastic, it's fantastic!' Your guide to the 2023 'Barbie' movie starring Margot Robbie

USA TODAY

This “Barbie” is ready to rule the summer.

Mattel’s iconic plastic doll is stepping out of the Dreamhouse and onto the big screen for her first live-action movie, after dozens of direct-to-video animated films.

Hollywood's take on the popular toy has been in the works for more than a decade, with Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway previously considered for different iterations of the title role. The long-gestating project finally found a star in two-time Oscar nominee Margot Robbie (“Babylon”), who has hinted at a more subversive spin on the pink-clad heroine. A new trailer, released May 25, has given us a better idea of what the movie is about, with Barbie pondering her existence and venturing to the human world.

Here’s everything we know about the eye-popping comedy, which awards pundits have already tipped as an early Oscar contender:

What is the release date for 'Barbie' movie 2023?

“Barbie” will be released July 21 in theaters. The movie is out the same day as Christopher Nolan’s similarly star-studded “Oppenheimer,” a true-life drama detailing the birth of the atomic bomb. The shared release date has sparked a variety of memes on social media, with cinephiles pitting the highly anticipated films against each other in a playful box-office rivalry.

Who is in the 'Barbie' cast with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling? (Hint: Not Gal Gadot.)

"Barbie" stars Ryan Gosling, left, and Margot Robbie pose together at CinemaCon in Las Vegas last month.

Half of Hollywood, basically. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling lead the bunch as Barbie and Ken. Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Nicola Coughlan, Hari Nef and many more play other Barbies, while Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir are among the various Kens. Emerald Fennell and Michael Cera portray now-discontinued dolls Midge and Allan, respectively, and pop star Dua Lipa appears as a mermaid Barbie. America Ferrera and Will Ferrell help round out the cast as human characters.

Robbie revealed in her new Vogue cover story that Gal Gadot was considered for a Barbie, although the "Wonder Woman" star couldn't commit. “Gal Gadot is Barbie energy,” Robbie said. “Because Gal Gadot is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful, because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky. It’s like right before being a dork."

What is the 'Barbie' movie about?

Ken (Ryan Gosling, left) and Barbie (Margot Robbie) are roller skate-ready in "Barbie."

Details about the film’s plot are being kept tightly under wraps. The initial teaser trailer, which paid homage to "2001: A Space Odyssey," was narrated by Helen Mirren and briefly glimpsed a sparkling dance sequence. The latest trailer follows Barbie and Ken as they venture from Barbie Land into the real world. But “whatever you think it is, it’s not that. It’s something else,” Ferrera teased in an interview with People.

Ferrell, who plays the Mattel CEO, called it the “ultimate example of high art and low art” in an interview with Wall Street Journal Magazine last year.

“It’s a loving homage to the brand and, at the same time, couldn’t be more satirical − just an amazing comment on male patriarchy and women in society and why Barbie’s criticized and yet why every little girl still wants to play with Barbie,” Ferrell explained. “Boy, when I read it, I was like, ‘This is fantastic.' ”

Who is 'Barbie' director Greta Gerwig?

Greta Gerwig walks the red carpet at the Warner Bros. presentation of "Barbie" at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Greta Gerwig, the three-time Oscar-nominated director and writer of 2017’s “Lady Bird” and 2019’s “Little Women,” directs. The actress-turned-filmmaker co-wrote the screenplay with her longtime partner Noah Baumbach, having previously collaborated on 2013’s “Frances Ha” and 2015’s “Mistress America.”

“We were making each other laugh and then we got to the end, and we started to make each other cry,” Gerwig said at CinemaCon last month. “He thought it was very good and was maybe wanting to direct it. And I said, ‘Step aside.’ There was a point I was so in love with it that I couldn’t imagine anyone else doing it.”

Who is on the 'Barbie' movie soundtrack with Dua Lipa?

"Levitating" singer Dua Lipa is releasing a new single from the film, "Dance the Night," on Friday. On Thursday, the "Barbie" album Instagram account also announced the star-studded artists who will be featured on the soundtrack, including Nicki Minaj, Lizzo, Charli XCX, Haim, Tame Impala, Dominic Fike, Ice Spice, and even Gosling.