Warner Bros. Pictures’ teaser trailer for Barbie turned to 2001: A Space Odyssey for inspiration. The minute-long teaser begins with 2001‘s thundering score as Barbie is revealed to be the object of worship in place of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 monolith. In Barbie‘s homage to the classic sci-fi film it’s little girls who are captivated by the appearance of this towering figure. They toss their baby dolls into the air, signifying the beginning of a new era in toys.
The teaser, narrated by Helen Mirren, sheds its 2001 vibe for the final 15 seconds and serves up snippets of brightly colored dance scenes featuring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken. Wow…just wow.
The cast also includes Issa Rae, Will Ferrell, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, and America Ferrera. Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach (currently busy promoting White Noise) wrote the screenplay and Gerwig directs. Robbie, David Heyman, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner serve as producers.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ trailer release came with the debut of six new photos and a poster. However, it didn’t come with an official synopsis.
Barbie opens in theaters on July 21, 2023.