Margot Robbie faces backlash for ‘dystopian’ comments about new Barbie film

Margot Robbie is one of the most successful actors on the planet right now, but you might not know that she’s also been bolstering her producing chops.

In 2014, Robbie founded production company LuckyChap Entertainment alongside husband Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr, and the team have been responsible for a slew of successful films including Oscar winner I, Tonya, as well as one of this year’s few blockbusters, Birds of Prey.

With their latest film, Promising Young Woman starring Carey Mulligan, heading to US cinemas on Christmas day, Robbie, Ackerley and McNamara were interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter about the company.

The interview would’ve been innocuous enough, had it not been for some comments Robbie made about a certain upcoming project.

What is this project exactly? A live-action Barbie film with Robbie, unsurprisingly, playing the lead. In a more surprising turn of events, the film is being written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, the directors of Lady Bird and Marriage Story, respectively.

The actor was reluctant to divulge any specific details about the upcoming film, but she promised that it was going to be “something totally different”.

She also added that their goal with the Barbie movie was to “truly honour the IP (intellectual property) and the fan base”. “If we can do all that and provoke a thoughtful conversation, then we're really firing on all cylinders,” she said.

The phrase “honour the IP” is what really got people raising their eyebrows. After all, it doesn’t really speak too highly about the future of cinema when films are being treated like products with corporate labels like “IP”.

For many, Robbie’s comments were emblematic of the very sad state of affairs for movies.

One person even called it downright “dystopian”.

Meanwhile, others just turned the interview into a meme.

Time will tell if Robbie has honoured the IP well enough to prevent an angry mob of Barbie fans.