Pretty much everyone involved with Barbie has a bit of an obsession with actor Sylvester Stallone.
From Barbie’s Oscar-winning costume designer, Jacqueline Durran, to actor Ryan Gosling and director Greta Gerwig, everyone loves the Rocky star.
So, it’s no surprise there are multiple references to him in the new blockbuster, including in the costumes.
Durran, who worked on Gerwig’s 2019 film, Little Women, told Entertainment Weekly that she referenced several “archetypal masculine” visuals while working on Ken’s real-world outfits.
She added that Ken’s faux fur coat is “100% inspired” by Stallone.
When Ken goes to the real world he sees imagery of the actor, then questions what a “real man” is and realizes that men rule the real world.
Durran said: “Those images were kind of around in the early prep when we were first talking about what Ken would look like. It seemed so extreme and over the top, but also just so brilliant.
“We were really wanting to get that in as a Ken image. And I wasn’t sure, because Ryan hadn’t started on the movie yet, whether he would be up for this kind of look or not, but he totally embraced it and he was really happy to have the fur coat.”
Durran wasn’t the only person on set who loved Stallone.
Director Greta Gerwig told Uproxx that she and Gosling bonded over their shared love of the actor.
Gerwig said: “I love all those Rocky movies. I love him a lot. So it was a really early thing, actually. When Ryan Gosling and I were texting a lot, we kind of both stumbled upon our mutual love of Sly Stallone.”
She added: “And then we were talking about his look in the ‘70s and how terrific it was. And he really adorned himself as a man. And we thought, ‘Well, that’s a good place to start.’ I mean, there are just sort of fabulous images of him, particularly in the Rockys.”
Gerwig added that it “would be such an honor,” if Stallone worked on Barbie 2 in some way, either appearing in a cameo or even co-directing.
She added: “I mean, he’s welcome to it.”
On the Stallone reference hidden in Goslings famulous faux fur coat, Gerwig said it had to be done.
She said: “Everything that we have, or that we reference, in the movie, is only ever stuff that we love. And I mean, I love Sylvester Stallone.”
It’s unclear if Gerwig will undertake a Barbie 2. She currently has “zero” plans to make a sequel.
However, if she does take it on it’s sure to be a success and feature Stallone references, even if the “real man” doesn’t sign on to be a part of it.
