Anne Hathaway Could Replace Amy Schumer as 'Barbie'

After losing Amy Schumer due to scheduling conflicts, Sony looks to have found its replacement for the upcoming live-action Barbie pic, with Anne Hathaway in talks for the lead role.

Australian Fun Mom Dinner director Alethea Jones is in talks to helm the comedy.

Studio reps said the casting is premature as scheduling arrangements have not been worked out and there is no deal as yet.

The big screen adaptation of Mattel’s iconic toy line was originally expected to start production on June 23, but Schumer’s busy schedule included a promotional tour for her new Fox comedy Snatched, as well as shooting for Rebecca Miller’s She Came to Me opposite Steve Carell.

Sony still intends to stick to its projected June 29, 2018 release date, though it’s not clear when production would start. Mattel already has merchandise and product cycles in motion, and shifting the production to accommodate Schumer would have put on a strain on other partners on the film, according to insiders.

The Barbie movie is said to be in the vein of Splash, Enchanted and Big. In it, the main character gets kicked out of Barbieland for not being perfect enough and lands in a real-world adventure.

Schumer recently did a polish of the script. It’s unknown whether the same tone will be kept for the Hathaway version.

Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Amy Pascal are producing the film. Richard Dickson, president and COO of Mattel, is executive producing.

Parkes and MacDonald initiated the original deal with Mattel in 2014.

While Hathaway doesn’t come from the stand-up comedian world like Schumer, she has shown a knack for comedic timing in films like The Devil Wears Prada and Get Smart. Hathaway is about to start shooting the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake Nasty Women with Rebel Wilson and is co-starring in the Ocean’s Eleven spin-off Ocean’s Eight.

She is repped by CAA and Management 360.

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