Summary
- The 2023 live-action Barbie movie introduces a diverse cast of Barbie characters, with Margot Robbie playing Stereotypical Barbie.
- While Stereotypical Barbie’s story focuses on her existential crisis, every Barbie introduced has a purpose, with Ken playing a major role as the villain.
- The best spinoff for the Barbie franchise would be centered around Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie character, who represents the worn and torn stages of a Barbie’s life cycle and offers a unique perspective on the Barbie world.
One Barbie character holds serious potential in inspiring the film’s most interesting spinoff, and it’s not Ryan Gosling’s Ken. Greta Gerwig’s 2023 live-action movie introduces a slew of Barbie characters taken straight from the line of eponymous fashion dolls by the toy manufacturing company, Mattel. Leading Barbie’s iconic cast of nostalgic characters is Margot Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie, while Ken, President Barbie, Mermaid Barbie, Journalist Barbie, and countless more are brought to life as the supporting ensemble to her story.
Although the film focuses on Stereotypical Barbie’s struggles with existential crisis and her exploration of the real world away from Barbieland, every Barbie introduced in the film has a purpose in her grand adventure, with Ken having the largest supporting stake in the overall narrative. In a big twist of events, Ken is revealed to be Barbie‘s villain, deciding to overturn the customs of Barbieland in the name of patriarchy. Because of his massive role in the 2023 movie and Ryan Gosling’s dazzling performance, the most logical Barbie spinoff would be a deep dive into Ken’s world – however, a different Barbie character has a way more interesting story to tell.
The Best Barbie Spinoff Would Be A Weird Barbie Prequel
When Stereotypical Barbie can no longer hold the distinguishing arch in her feet, develops cellulite, and starts to think too much of her own mortality, she decides to seek answers for her unseemly but uncontrollable developments. Her worries bring her to the doorstep of Kate McKinnon’s Weird Barbie, an outcast Barbie who represents the worn and torn stages of a Barbie’s life cycle. Complete with a short haircut and marker doodles on her face, Weird Barbie welcomes Stereotypical Barbie into her home to pick her brain. McKinnon’s character is filled with unending knowledge concerning Barbies, Barbieland, and Barbieland’s connection to the real world, setting her up to be the perfect avenue for a future Barbie spinoff.
Weird Barbie’s all-knowing understanding equips her with an undetermined backstory the franchise could easily expand on. Weird Barbie is also a delightfully eccentric and lovable character, representing how it’s okay to be different and break from the mold. Endowed with knowledge and quirky but relatable sensibilities, Weird Barbie could effortlessly hold her own as the leading character of a Barbie spinoff, as her compelling nature was already used to lead the charge against Ken’s patriarchal takeover of Barbieland.
Why Kate McKinnon’s Barbie Is The Best Choice For A Spinoff
Of all of Barbie’s supporting characters, McKinnon’s Barbie would be the perfect choice to front a spinoff because her story would provide a fascinating insight into the world of Barbie. A spinoff with Weird Barbie at its core could explain how McKinnon’s character came to know everything about the human world and how she came to be the “Weird” one. Insight on Weird Barbie would educate audiences on the lifecycle of a Barbie, the relationship humans have with their Barbies, and more, which could help to expand the Barbie universe in an organic and straightforward way.
Weird Barbie is perceived to have obtained her knowledge well before the events of the Barbie movie, so a spinoff could come by way of a prequel film. Her story would take place before the events of the 2023 movie, so if a prequel spinoff did indeed come to fruition, her tale would not only be organic but seamless and not too complicated in the overall timeline of the Barbie universe. However promising a Weird Barbie spinoff sounds, a second Barbie movie has yet to be confirmed, but if there ever comes the chance for the Mattel universe to expand, hopefully it’s with McKinnon’s Barbie at its helm.
