'I'm so honoured': Margot Robbie scores iconic role - The Sydney Morning Herald

Margot Robbie is set to play Barbie in a live-action film based on the iconic Mattel doll.

The Gold Coast actress, currently starring as Queen Elizabeth in Mary Queen of Scots, has secured the role after previous incarnations, set to star Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway, fell through.

She will also co-produce the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment production company.

Margot Robbie is set to play Barbie.Credit:Invision

"Playing with Barbie promotes confidence, curiosity and communication throughout a child's journey to self-discovery. Over the brand's almost 60 years, Barbie has empowered kids to imagine themselves in aspirational roles from a princess to president," Robbie said in a statement to Variety.

"I'm so honoured to take on this role and produce a film that I believe will have a tremendously positive impact on children and audiences worldwide. I can't imagine better partners than Warner Bros and Mattel to bring this film to the big screen."

Mattel, the maker of Barbie, launched its new theatrical film division last September.

The film will be the first project from Mattel's new theatrical film division, launched in September last year to "develop motion pictures based on Mattel's iconic franchises". It also marks a significant coup for Robbie and studio Warner Bros.

A Mattel-backed Barbie film set to star comedian Amy Schumer and penned by Oscar-winner Diablo Cody had been announced by Sony back in 2017, but the two later dropped out due to conflicting schedules.

Anne Hathaway was later cited as a replacement, with Aussie director Alethea Jones set to direct, but after Sony's option expired, the project shifted to Warner Bros where Margot Robbie first entered talks for the role in October last year, Deadline reported.

Robbie, 28 - who first tried her luck in Hollywood in 2011, after three years on Ten soap Neighbours - has a significant slate lined up through to 2020.

This year, she'll appear as Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino's anticipated Manson-era epic Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, before reprising her role as DC favourite Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad spin-offs Birds of Prey and Gotham City Sirens.

She is also set to star as Maid Marian in a new re-telling that follows the character's rise to power "after the love of her life, Robin Hood, dies," Variety noted.

Robert Moran is an entertainment reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age