The Margot Robbie starrer Barbie seems to be making headlines even after seven months of being released in cinemas and creating history. The film was the highest-grossing film of 2023 and was the first film by a solo female filmmaker to reach a billion dollars at the box office. The film has also received some Oscar love, with it being nominated for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The film had a large ensemble cast led by Robbie and Ryan Reynolds and other stars, including Michael Cera, Emma Mackey, America Ferrera, Will Farrell, and Simu Liu. While the film had multiple cameos, including John Cena and Dua Lipa as members of Barbieland, fans would have been reportedly exposed to a Ben Affleck cameo in Barbie. However, the actor was reportedly busy filming Air at the time.
Ben Affleck Was Supposed To Fight In Margot Robbie’s Barbie
Margot Robbie had a huge ensemble filled with stars in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. The actress led the ensemble with grace and power, as she received multiple accolades for her portrayal, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film’s supporting actors, too, received acclaim, with actress America Ferrera receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
The film also had multiple cameos as various Barbies and Kens in the mythical Barbieland. While John Cena’s Kenmaid was an unexpected highlight in the film, another cameo by a noted DC superhero was reportedly in the plans by Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig. In an interview with The AV Club, Michael Cera, who played Allan in the film, revealed that Ben Affleck was supposed to be in the film.
Cera mentioned that Affleck was almost cast in the film before he had to give it up at the last moment due to his commitments with his directorial Air. Hence, the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World star had to step in and perform his amazing fight sequence in the film. Cera said,
“I wasn’t even supposed to fight in the movie. Am I allowed to say what it was supposed to be? It was supposed to be Ben Affleck…I think Ben wanted to do it, but he was directing his movie. They’re like, ‘Okay, Ben’s out, something has to happen here. So you’re gonna fight them.’ So I had to jump in with the stunt team.”
Michael Cera mentioned that he had just recovered from COVID-19 and that he was extremely exhausted after just training for the sequence. He mentioned that fighting in the scene was never part of Allan’s journey as a character.
Ben Affleck’s Involvement Gives A New Layer To The Zack Snyder Joke
The idea of Ben Affleck being in Margot Robbie’s Barbie has excited fans beyond measure. The Batman star, being in the film, along with Michael Cera, who played Robin in The Lego Batman Movie, was a missed opportunity at being meta. However, if Affleck was present in the film, a joke that came later in the film would have been an amazing meta moment.
In the film, all the Barbies, except for Margot Robbie, in Barbieland are put in a trance-like state where they have lost their personalities and have taken up traditional ‘women-specific’ roles after Ken introduces the concept of patriarchy to the world. However, Margot Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie and the humans slowly take them out of the trance and bring them back to their old selves.
In a scene where Writer Barbie, played by Alexandra Shipp, is taken out of the trance and talks about her state of mind while in the hypnotic state to Margot Robbie and the others. While describing it, she makes a reference to Zack Snyder and the Snyder cut. She says,
“It’s like I’ve been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League.”
The joke was a reference to the social media campaign that was launched by fans, demanding the Zack Snyder version of Justice League be released after his departure from the film caused the theatrical release to be a mess. The phenomenon was criticized for its bullying nature, with executives of WB being hassled at every turn to make the ‘Snyder Cut’ happen.
The studio eventually released Zack Snyder’s Justice League on Max. Ben Affleck, who played Batman in Snyder’s DCEU, was also supposed to helm his own Batman films but quit due to production delays and management issues. He also stepped down from the role soon after.
Ben Affleck making a cameo in Margot Robbie’s Barbie, while the Snyder Cut joke was delivered, would have been a great moment for the already meta film. With Barbie rival Oppenheimer featuring his best friend Matt Damon, the Barbenheimer war would have a whole new layer, too.
