Barbenheimer Plot, Producer, And More Details
A "Barbenheimer" movie is coming.
After the summer sensation dubbed "Barbenheimer" crushed box office expectations and sent fans to movie theaters in droves, it isn't surprising that someone saw fit to make a low-budget comedy based on the concept. It's a pretty loose take, though, on Greta Gerwig's irreverent, deceptively cheerful "Barbie" film and Christopher Nolan's dark, unflinching biopic, "Oppenheimer." Considering that the poster's tagline is "D-Cup, A-Bomb," it seems poised to take things like the patriarchy and atomic bombs much less seriously than either Gerwig or Nolan's movies do — not to mention that the film's production company, Full Moon, will soon market dolls with their "arms around a big atomic bomb," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
So what exactly is the "Barbenheimer" movie? What can fans of either "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer" expect from this movie? Here's everything we know about "Barbenheimer" so far, from the plot description to what you need to know about the two original films before checking out this version.
When will Barbenheimer be released?
There's no official release date for "Barbenheimer" right now because the movie hasn't even started filming yet. According to The Hollywood Reporter, director Charles Band — more on him momentarily — hasn't quite finished his 397th film "Bad CGI Gator" as of this writing (that project, a spoof of movies like "Sharknado," boasts the tagline "Terror Rendered Too Cheaply").
Band told the outlet that "Barbenheimer" will start production in early 2024 if all goes according to plan. Fans hoping to combine the highs and lows of both "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" will, presumably, have to wait until at least the middle of that year. If Band wants to follow in the original Barbenheimer's footsteps, he'll aim for a summer release, as those movies now famously both hit theaters on July 21 of this year. The frenzy that followed the release of both highly anticipated films led to a huge uptick in box office hauls for both, thanks to fans rushing to attempt a double feature of both movies ... so in terms of the box office power between the two movies, "Barbenheimer" has a lot to live up to.
What is the plot of Barbenheimer?
Per The Hollywood Reporter, here's what audiences can expect from "Barbenheimer." The story kicks off by introducing Dr. Bambi J. Barbenheimer, a doll who lives in Dolltopia and works as a scientist. Dolltopia sounds a lot like Greta Gerwig's idyllic Barbieland, and Bambi enjoys many of the same delights as Margot Robbie's Barbie, like lots of parties and a boyfriend named Twink Dollman.
This all gets turned on its head, though, when — also like Robbie's Barbie — Bambi travels to the real world and is horrified when she sees how poorly dolls are treated by the kids who play with them, calling to mind Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), whose wild appearance is the result of being handled too roughly. Bambi's reaction to all of this? She decides to build a nuclear bomb to destroy the human world. We'll leave you with the synopsis reported by THR: "They got great looks and a super attitude! Oh, and now they've got the bomb."
Who is writing and producing Barbenheimer?
Charles Band is producing "Barbenheimer" under his current production company, Full Moon Productions. "It's so silly," Band told The Hollywood Reporter. "But it seems like every other feature is dark and depressing, and it's like, God, we need a little humor going into 2024."
According to Band, he wasn't the one who decided the film was a good idea; it was Adam Felber, who co-wrote Band's biography, "Confessions of a Puppetmaster: A Hollywood Memoir of Ghouls, Guts and Gonzo Filmmaking." "He called me and was like, 'We should make Barbenheimer the movie. Everyone around the world is having fun with that notion, so we should actually make it,'" he told THR.
Per THR, once the two agreed to make "Barbenheimer," "it wasn't long before they had a script." This implies Band and Felber collaborated on the screenplay (though the report doesn't say definitively). The film also features original songs penned by Brian Wecht of Ninja Sex Party fame.
What you need to know about both Barbie and Oppenheimer before Barbenheimer
Let's backtrack for a moment. In case it's been a while since you revisited either "Barbie" or "Oppenheimer" — or you haven't watched either yet — here's the lowdown. Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" sees Margot Robbie's Barbie travel to the real world and experience a seriously rude awakening when she discovers the matriarchal structure of Barbieland doesn't translate there. While she's away, Ken (Ryan Gosling), inspired by the real world's patriarchy, brings a crudely sketched version back to Barbieland (it primarily centers around horses and mini-fridges, with a side of misogyny). From there, Barbie has to work with her new human allies, Gloria (America Ferrera) and Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), to save Barbieland and her fellow Barbies.
"Oppenheimer," on the other hand, spans several decades within the life of Cillian Murphy's J. Robert Oppenheimer, particularly as he works alongside the United States Army to develop the atomic bomb during World War II. As we all know from history, Oppenheimer's work succeeds and results in the bombing of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki ... which haunts the scientist. From there, he undergoes strenuous questioning over potential ties to the Communist party, and his reputation is nearly ruined due to political meddling from Lewis Strauss (Robert Downey Jr.), with Christopher Nolan splitting the narrative between Oppenheimer's bomb tests and his political struggles later in life.
"Barbie" is streaming on Max now, and "Oppenheimer's" digital and physical release is set for November 21.