Amy Schumer “Really Enjoyed” Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ Despite Dropping Out Of The Lead Role in 2017 Due To Creative Differences

Before we had Greta Gerwig‘s summer blockbuster Barbie, Sony originally had the rights to the Mattel doll’s story, which they were developing with the help of screenwriter Diablo Cody and actress Amy Schumer in 2016.

But the project eventually got scrapped after Schumer stepped away, citing “creative differences.” Warner Bros. then acquired the rights, where Gerwig and Margot Robbie took over.

Despite this, the comedian and actress recently got to enjoy her own Barbenheimer double feature, which she says she “really enjoyed.”

“Really enjoyed Barbie and Oppenheimer but I think I should have played Emily Blunt‘s role,” she joked in an Instagram post made on Monday (July 24). “Do better Hollywood.”

Blunt played J. Robert Oppenheimer’s wife, Kitty Oppenheimer, who is a far cry from the stereotypical doll Schumer was initially cast to play in Barbie.

At the time, the plan for Sony’s iteration of Barbie was to combine Cody’s “idiosyncratic writing style” with Schumer’s “crass” comedic abilities. But, writing a feminist take on Barbie turned out to be a tall order for Cody.

“They wanted a girl-boss feminist twist on Barbie, and I couldn’t figure it out because that’s not what Barbie is,” the Jennifer’s Body writer told GQ.

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“I think I know why I shit the bed,” Cody said. “When I was first hired for [Barbie], I don’t think the culture had not embraced the femme or the bimbo as valid feminist archetypes yet. If you look up ‘Barbie’ on TikTok you’ll find this wonderful subculture that celebrates the feminine, but in 2014, taking this skinny blonde white doll and making her into a heroine was a tall order.”

Though she initially chalked her exit up to “scheduling issues,” Schumer later told The Hollywood Reporter that the problems went well beyond that.

“They definitely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it,” she said.

According to THR, Schumer’s Barbie was going to focus on a woman getting kicked out of Barbie Land for not being perfect enough. During a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live, the actress agreed with Andy Cohen when he asked if she left the project because it wasn’t “feminist and cool” when she was involved in it.

Now, Gerwig’s take on Barbie is breaking box office records after reaching almost $162 million in its first weekend in theaters, making it the biggest opening weekend of the year.

Barbie is now playing in theaters.