Greta Gerwig has the world at her feet post Barbie – and she’s not planning to narrow herself to a filmmaking genre just yet. The Oscar-nominated director has said she’s open to helming a superhero movie or an action blockbuster in the future, provided the right idea comes along.
Asked about the potential of those genres in a new Rolling Stone profile, Gerwig said: "Yes, of course. It would have to be something I had a feeling for and a relationship to. A well-shot, well-executed action movie is just incredible. It’s a dance. I’ve never done anything like that. But even in a small way, working with the stunt coordinator who did fight choreography on Barbie, he was just fascinating. It was so fun to talk to him."
We have to admit, this is something we’d love to see. Gerwig’s prowess at nailing the human condition in films like Little Women and Lady Bird reflected into an epic summer blockbuster – what’s not to love about that? It’s also interesting that these comments come soon after the news that she’s struck up a deal with Netflix to adapt C.S. Lewis’ beloved Chronicles of Narnia.
Gerwig also opened up to Rolling Stone about juggling independent releases and huge commercial films, which adds some interesting context to the Narnia news. "I think probably every director has a fantasy baseball league in their head of what movies they want to make," she said about balancing the different kinds of films.
"There’s some movies I’d like to make that require a big canvas. At the same time, I’ve seen so many directors move between bigger movies and smaller movies: Chloé Zhao doing Nomadland and making Eternals. Or Steven Soderbergh, or even my weekend buddy Chris Nolan. He made the Dark Knight trilogy – and they’re wonderful – and then made The Prestige, which is not a tiny movie, but it is also not the same thing. I want to play in lots of different worlds. That’s the goal."
Gerwig’s Barbie opens in theaters on July 21. For more on that and other upcoming movies, check out our guide to 2023 movie release dates.