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Amy Schumer Will Be a Barbie Girl in a Live-Action Barbie World

Amy Schumer, Barbie?

Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

Amy Schumer is reportedly set to star as Barbie in an upcoming live-action feature from Mattel and Sony.

I repeat: Amy Schumer is reportedly set to star as Barbie in an upcoming live-action feature from Mattel and Sony.

Perhaps your first thought upon hearing this news is, Has Amy Schumer, notably self-deprecating feminist, officially sold out? Or maybe it’s just, Whaaa?? Both responses are fair and understandable. This seems weird. But then, maybe it’s actually a cool idea. Ater years of declining sales numbers, Mattel has finally begun embracing that pesky little way of doing business (and life) known as inclusion, expanding its line of dolls to include an array of different body shapes, hairstyles, and skin tones. Lo and behold, the strategic marketing strategy has worked, and Barbie sales this year have “soared.” What better way to milk this new era for all its worth by getting one of the most famous and lucrative feminists to further rehab Barbie’s image?

On a less cynical note, Schumer’s casting feels ingenious for another less obvious reason: Her body type, as well as her ideals, fly in the face of everything our president-elect worships and gropes in a woman. And the fact that the script—which Schumer is said to be rewriting with her sister Kim Caramele—will apparently “try to take a contemporary spin on beauty, feminism and identity,” as the Hollywood Reporter puts it, is at the very least promising. It will be interesting to see how Schumer’s dark and profane humor will work with the Mattel brand; here’s hoping it turns out a lot better than her ill-advised reinterpretation of Lemonade.