Ben Affleck was supposed to be in ‘Barbie’ according to Michael Cera

Ben Affleck was supposed to be in summer blockbuster smash Barbie, according to Michael Cera.

• READ MORE: ‘Barbie’ review: Greta Gerwig’s grown-up toy story is fantastic fun

Cera played doll Allan in the film and speaking at a Q&A this week (via The A.V. Club), Cera revealed that original plans for the scene would have featured a cameo from Affleck, with him initiating a fight scene Cera is involved in towards the end of the film.

He suggested Affleck wanted to do the movie but couldn’t due to his acting and directorial commitments on Air.

“I wasn’t even supposed to fight in the movie,” Cera explained. “Am I allowed to say what it was supposed to be? It was supposed to be Ben Affleck. Right? Am I allowed to say that?

“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.

“I had just gotten over COVID, and they had me training, and I almost died. Just doing the warm-up! I had to lay down in my trailer, and they sent the nurse to see me, and I was sent home. So then we had a second rehearsal, and I learned it. That’s the story basically.”

It’s unclear if Gerwig wanted Affleck to play Allan or another character in the film.

In other Barbie news, Mark Ronson has said he “would love to make more music” with Ryan Gosling following their recent success with ‘I’m Just Ken’ on the Barbie soundtrack.

The song, which is sung by Gosling, recently won a Critics Choice Award ahead of entries from the likes of Dua Lipa and Billie Eilish. The song has also been nominated for ‘Best Original Song’ at the upcoming Academy Awards and a Grammy in the category of Best Song Written For Visual Media.

In a new interview with Billboard, Ronson opened up about his desire to work with Gosling again, especially after their recent collaboration on a Christmas version of the hit song. 

He explained that the pair were “just talking about different kinds of music and things that he loved and Scott Walker and this stuff, and I was like, ‘Well, we should do a version of ‘Ken’ that just does something a little different, like a different arrangement.’ Because, you know, there was a lot of talk like the ’80s power ballad and this, and I mean, it has all those things, but I think some of my pride as a songwriter, I wanted to prove that it wasn’t just that.

“So Ryan… he’s got amazing taste and great ideas, and he’s an extremely funny and talented musician and singer. So we made this version and then we started to hang, and definitely, I would love to make more music. You know, I think it would be great. And we’ve talked about it a little bit,” he said, hinting that they could team up again in the future.

Upon its first release, ‘I’m Just Ken’ was the soundtrack’s breakout hit, and went on to earn the actor a spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Ronson has previously opened up about the making of the soundtrack, and explained that Gosling claimed the song was one that “speaks to him very deeply”. The track also featured as one of NME‘s top songs of 2023.

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