Amy Schumer has pulled out of the title role of Sony’s upcoming live-action Barbie film, citing “scheduling conflicts”.
The actor and comedian was announced as the film’s star in December last year. She and her sister, Kim Caramele, would also be contributing a partial rewrite of the script.
“Sadly, I’m no longer able to commit to Barbie due to scheduling conflicts,” the actress told Variety in a statement on Thursday. “The film has so much promise, and Sony and Mattel have been great partners. I’m bummed, but look forward to seeing Barbie on the big screen.”
Mixing animation with live action, the movie follows what happens to Barbie after she is evicted from Barbieland, where she didn’t fit in. Her adventure in the real world, according to Deadline, leads her to the realisation that “perfection comes on the inside, not the outside, and that the key to happiness is belief in oneself, free of the obligation to adhere to some unattainable standard of perfection”. Barbie then returns to Barbieland to save the others.
After Schumer was announced for the lead, the usual corners of Twitter began to troll her – to which the comedian responded on Instagram: “My deepest sympathy goes out to the trolls who are in more pain than we will ever understand. I want to thank them for making it so evident that I am a great choice. It’s that kind of response that let’s you know something’s wrong with our culture and we all need to work together to change it.”
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The Barbie movie, originally set for an early 2017 release, has already had a number of shakeups. The original script was written by Jenny Bicks (Rio 2), before Diablo Cody of Juno was brought on board for a rewrite in March 2015, to bring “a legitimately contemporary tone” to the character. Bert Royal, Hilary Winston and Lindsey Beer were then reportedly invited to take their own stab at the script, before Schumer and Caramele were brought in. There is still no director attached.
The film is now set to be released on 29 June 2018 – an inflexible date for Sony and Mattel, as the merchandise line has already gone into production, according to Variety.
“We respect and support Amy’s decision,” a Sony spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to bringing Barbie to the world and sharing updates on casting and film-makers soon.”
Schumer has three high-profile films in the work: an untitled comedy from 50/50 director Jonathan Levine, Jason Hall’s Thank You for Your Service, and a film she has co-scripted with Jennifer Lawrence in which they will both star.