Barbie co-writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have revealed that the original script featured references to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and even a cameo from the director himself.
Speaking at a recent Writers Guild of America West event moderated by Judd Apatow (H/T Variety), they shared that during the process of cutting down the Barbie script, a nod to Blade Runner 1982 ended up on the chopping block. It was later replaced by the infamous Zack Snyder’s Justice League joke in the movie’s 'mansplaining' sequence.
That’s right, the part where Writer Barbie compares being brainwashed by the Ken dolls to being "in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder cut of Justice League", was once a reference to the director’s cut version of Blade Runner and its removal of the movie’s voiceover.
"One of the Barbies says to Ken, 'Oh my god, I never would have realized that Deckard was a replicant,'" Gerwig, who also directed the movie, recalled. "Then when she gets un-brainwashed, there’s a version where she said, 'I liked the voiceover. I needed it to help me understand what was happening. Nobody’s following this.'"
The Barbie director then revealed that not only was his movie supposed to be referenced, but the team wanted Ridley Scott himself to make a cameo in the flick. When asked about this further, the pair declined to discuss it in detail, but Baumbach added, "It wasn’t making fun of him. We loved him as we love all of our references." Gerwig then chimed in to solidify that every reference made in the movie was a tribute made out of love.
The Barbie movie is available to rent on Amazon Prime. For more Barb-tastic cameos and references, check out our list of all of the Barbie Easter eggs you might have missed.
