Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced that Amy Schumer will no longer to be portraying Barbie in the upcoming live-action movie adaptation due to scheduling conflicts — meaning the search is on for her replacement.
After months of searching, Anne Hathaway has emerged as the frontrunner to play the iconic Mattel character after entering negotiations with Sony, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Fun Mom Dinner" director Alethea Jones is also being eyed to helm the project.
In the live-action movie adaptation, Barbie gets kicked out of Barbieland for not being perfect enough and enters the real world as a normal woman. There, she finds out that being unique is an asset.
Even though it remains unclear when production would begin, Sony still plans to adhere to its projected June 29, 2018 release date. The live-action movie adaptation is being produced by Amy Pascal, Laurie MacDonald and Walter F. Parkes, while Mattel's president and chief operating officer, Richard Dickson, is executive producing.
While waiting, fans can check out Hathaway next in the heist-comedy film "Ocean's Eight." The film follows a criminal mastermind, Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), and other female thieves — Daphne Kluger (Hathaway), Lou (Cate Blanchett), Rose (Helena Bonham Carter), Constance (Awkwafina), Amita (Mindy Kaling), Tammy (Sarah Paulson) and Nine Ball (Rihanna) — as they attempt to pull off the heist of the century at New York's annual Met Gala.
"Even though I've been in some female-centric films, I've never been in a film like this," said "The Princess Diaries" star in an interview with Elle magazine last April. "It just kind of makes you aware of the ways you sort of unconsciously change yourself to fit certain scenarios... There are certain things you understand about one another because of experiences you have in common."
"Ocean's Eight" is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 8, 2018.
