Barbie: Why Timothée Chalamet & Saoirse Ronan's Cameos Didn't End Up Happening

It's natural for directors to use the same actors across their filmography. They obviously like working with them and their particular acting style, so fans expect them to pop up time and time again. Greta Gerwig certainly follows in that vein, working with both Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet on "Lady Bird" and "Little Women." The director broke out of this mold for her upcoming "Barbie," which has a highly impressive cast led by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. However, Gerwig still tried to get her stalwart performers in the film somehow.

She revealed to CinemaBlend how she wanted Ronan and Chalamet to do cameos for "Barbie." They likely wouldn't have had major appearances, but it would've been neat to see them, even if it was briefly. The Oscar nominee detailed, "Well, it was always going to have to be like a sort of smaller thing because [Ronan] was actually producing at the time, which I am so proud of her for. And of course, it's brilliant. But it was going to be a specialty cameo. I was also going to do a specialty cameo with Timmy, and both of them couldn't do it, and I was so annoyed. But I love them so much. But it felt like doing something without my children. I mean, I'm not their mom, but I sort of feel like their mom."

Gerwig could definitely be attributed to helping boost both actors' profiles, but it's safe to say the two of them have been more than busy as of late.

There aren't any further details of who exactly Saoirse Ronan and Timothée Chalamet would've played in "Barbie," but it makes the most sense they would've been another Barbie and Ken, respectively. The film breaks their streak working with Greta Gerwig, but it's understandable they couldn't make even small cameos work within their schedules. 

Ronan has several projects coming out in the near future, including "Foe," "Blitz," and "The Outrun." That last film is the most interesting because, as Gerwig mentioned in her quote, Ronan will also serve as a producer for "The Outrun" in addition to starring in it. Chalamet hasn't been a slouch either, as 2023 sees him in two major productions. He may not have had time for "Barbie," but he'll next appear in "Dune: Part Two" as Paul Atreides, reprising the role from the first installment in 2021. He's also starring in the titular role in "Wonka," which sees him go off to a world of pure imagination in the Willy Wonka origin film.

At the very least, the actors' exclusions from "Barbie" isn't for lack of trying. It sounds like they did their best to make something work and just couldn't. But fans shouldn't give up hope of Gerwig working with Ronan and Chalamet in the future. Gerwig has signed on to write and direct at least two "Chronicles of Narnia" movies for Netflix. Those books have a myriad of whimsical characters for a great cast of actors to portray, and one would assume Ronan and Chalamet would be on Gerwig's list to get involved.