Sophia Michaels
Timothée Chalamet has major Ken-ergy. According to a Hollywood First Look interview posted on July 22, director Greta Gerwig said she fought for both Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan to join her “Barbie” movie as an additional Ken and Barbie. The two previously starred together as love interests in Gerwig’s coming-of-age film “Ladybird,” but they were apparently unable to make it down to the Barbie Dreamhouse, simultaneously breaking our hearts and giving Chalamet some minor FOMO.
“I tried to get them both in it, I really did, and they both couldn’t do it,” Gerwig said earnestly. “Although, Timothée did come by the set and then said, ‘Oh, I should have been in this,’ and I was like, ‘I know! Why aren’t you in this?'”
While we’ll never know for certain, we feel confident that Chalamet’s Ken would’ve totally altered the course of the film. We find it difficult to believe he’d ever buy into the principles of the patriarchy or the tacky fur coats worn in the Mojo Dojo Casa House. At the very least, his hypothetical performance in the all-Kens dance number would’ve elicited a cultural shift far beyond the scope of the Barbieverse. To him, it’s a missed opportunity, but to us, it’s so much more . . .
Chalamet is among several other actors who had to turn down Ken roles, although we’re still not sure what other projects could’ve possibly taken precedence. Other would-be Kens include Bowen Yang, Dan Levy, and Ben Platt, not to mention Jonathan Groff, who was initially intended to play Allan. Of course, the movie still ended up just as pink and poignant as expected, but a part of us will always wonder what could have been. At the very least, it’s an incredibly compelling argument for a “Barbie” sequel.
