‘Barbie’ Adds ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ Star Alexandra Shipp

Alexandra Shipp joins Barbie

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie continues to expand its cast.

 

Alexandra Shipp, from Tick, Tick… BOOM!, has been cast alongside Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Kate McKinnon, and Simu Liu in the upcoming movie, according to Variety. Ariana Greenblatt was also recently reported by Deadline to be joining the movie. Both Shipp’s and Greenblatt’s roles are currently unknown.

 

Shipp was recently seen in Lin Manuel Miranda’s Oscar-nominated feature, playing Andrew Garfield’s on-screen romance. She also played Storm in the two most recent X-Men movies. While her performance in Tick, Tick… BOOM! may have been eclipsed by the greatness that was Garfield’s, she certainly left an impression on many people.

 

Greta Gerwig co-wrote the script with her husband, Noah Baumbach, and will direct the movie. As the casting process continues fast and furious, cameras could start rolling any week now. The crew, both in front and behind the camera, are top tier so far, so we certainly shouldn’t be judging the project from its title.

 

The movie has been in development for a very long time. Years ago, Amy Schumer was supposed to play the lead role, long before it went to Margot Robbie. The Trainwreck actress recently explained to The Hollywood Reporter what happened with her version of the movie:

 

“They definitely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it. The idea that that’s just what every woman must want, right there, I should have gone, ‘You’ve got the wrong gal.’”

 

According to THR, “Schumer had written Barbie as an ambitious inventor; the studio asked that her invention be a high heel made of Jell-O.” With Gerwig on board, we certainly hope the studio has learned the lesson and will leave some creative freedom for the writing and the overall direction of the project.

 

If pre-production continues this smoothly, Barbie could be targeting a 2023 release date.