Barbie Live-Action Film Might Actually Be Good and Sorta Feminist

Green-lit by two female top studio executives at Sony and penned by a former Sex and the City writer, the forthcoming live-action Barbie comedy promises to be about “female empowerment”—which we all know falls somewhere comfortably between the immaturity of “girl power” and the scariness of “feminism”—and has the potential to be a legit decent movie.

After resisting turning the $3 billion a year brand into a feature film for several decades, Mattel invited a small group of filmmakers to pitch movie ideas. According to Deadline, Jenny Bicks—whose writing credits include Sex and the City, The Big C and What a Girl Wants—won the deal with her pitch that promised to prioritize female empowerment by utilizing the professional skills she gained from her more than 150 careers to “step into the lives of others and improve them, almost like a modern-day Mary Poppins.”

(Some of Barbie’s many careers include: astronaut, surgeon, model, football coach, paratrooper, POTUS, cowgirl, wedding stylist and SeaWorld trainer.)

Sony Pictures’ chief Amy Pascal and production president Hannah Minghella signed off on the deal, with Minghella calling it an “unexpected, clever, and truly funny concept.” They are fast-tracking this one, with production set to begin before the end of the year.