The 'Barbie' Movie Poster Is Already This Year's Most Iconic Meme
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My Twitter feed is currently 99 percent Barbie movie jokes, memes and commentary. This movie isn't even out yet and it's already deeply iconic.
ICYMI, the Greta Gerwig-directed live action flick is set for release in July of this year—peak blockbuster season.
It will star Ryan Gosling as the principal Ken and Margot Robbie as the principal Barbie, flanked by a whole set of other famous Kens and Barbies portrayed by the likes of Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Nicola Coughlan, Kate McKinnon, Dua Lipa, Hari Nef, Issa Rae and SO. MANY MORE.
Other stars (i.e. playing other roles) include: Helen Mirren, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Emerald Fennell, and the list goes on and on and on.
On Tuesday, a new trailer for the movie was released, alongside a series of alternative movie posters with those stars on them.
A post shared by Nicola Coughlan (@nicolacoughlan)
A photo posted by on
The internet immediately went into a tailspin and started making all sorts of jokes.
"This is my Citizen Kane. My Godfather. My Dark Knight," declared one Twitter user after seeing the trailer.
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This is my Citizen Kane. My Godfather. My Dark Knight. https://t.co/UF9YJ9Ts8LApril 4, 2023
Simu Liu himself captioned a photo of his character, "free the nipple"
free the nipple pic.twitter.com/zk2W83EQEbApril 4, 2023
Others lamented the fact that their faves aren't included in the cast.
"goodbye goodbye goodbye you were bigger than the whole sky," someone captioned a photo of Saoirse Ronan in Barbie gear. Ronan, a longtime collaborator of Gerwig's, was originally supposed to be included in the cast, but had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict.
goodbye goodbye goodbye you were bigger than the whole sky pic.twitter.com/8O6Q1RQp7PApril 4, 2023
Someone else asked, "now where is ZENDAYA’s barbie poster?"
now where is ZENDAYA’s barbie poster? pic.twitter.com/1BGUCDXFTMApril 4, 2023
One account had tweeted in April 2022 next to a promotional photo of Robbie as Barbie, "This is about as perfect as you'd expect from this casting, but if they really want to do her right, she should end the movie with crunchy hair and mismatched shoes, like every Barbie my sisters ever had."
This week, they quote-tweeted themselves with McKinnon's poster, in which she has haphazardly cut hair and scribbles on her face. They wrote, "The crazy bastards did it"
The crazy bastards did it https://t.co/sUKatMF4b0 pic.twitter.com/GBHyEQJXZmApril 4, 2023
Many people commented on an amazing shot of Barbie's feet, when she steps out of her high-heeled shoes to reveal high-heeled-shoe-shaped feet (like Barbies have).
"are you seeing this christopher nolan?" one person wrote.
are you seeing this christopher nolan? pic.twitter.com/au2BKgMRxmApril 4, 2023
OH BTW, the official movie poster reads, "She's everything. He's just Ken," a line which has also inspired its fair share of memes.
"every time a girl i know gets engaged," wrote one person.
every time a girl i know gets engaged pic.twitter.com/xixm5EDbj1April 4, 2023
Well-known jokester Merriam-Webster tweeted, "She's | pronoun | all that exists or is conceived as existing (From Middle English 'every thing,' first known use in the 13th century)
"He's just Ken."
She's | pronoun | all that exists or is conceived as existing (From Middle English 'every thing,' first known use in the 13th century) He's just Ken.April 4, 2023
Someone shared the poster of Ryan Gosling with the caption, "y'all he looks so STUPID (complimentary) literally the perfect ken i'm crying so bad omg"
y'all he looks so STUPID (complimentary) literally the perfect ken i'm crying so bad omg pic.twitter.com/Cu0MPdkixNApril 4, 2023
After that, it wasn't long until everyone began making their own movie posters, using photos of themselves or of people from pop culture. BTW, you can make yours using this dedicated tool.
Here's Gwyneth Paltrow at her recent ski accident trial:
I cannot even begin to explain how much joy the Barbie poster generator has brought me. pic.twitter.com/SqAB6aenhdApril 5, 2023
Here's character actress Margo Martindale (a BoJack Horseman reference):
https://t.co/7MsyCnvh7k pic.twitter.com/aV4tvWdT1nApril 4, 2023
Here's Angela Bassett (she did the thing):
pic.twitter.com/zoQA9a21SKApril 4, 2023
Fans have also made these posters of Taylor Swift, Blackpink, Louis Tomlinson, etc., etc., etc. The possibilities are endless!
Here's mine, sorry, and you're welcome:

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.
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