Margot Robbie only got Barbie role after Amy Schumer quit

The trailer for the much-anticipated Barbie movie has just dropped, sending large swathes of social media into meltdown.

But the film could have been oh so different had Amy Schumer not decided to pull out of the leading role. Check out the trailer here:

As you can see, Margot Robbie has stepped into the stilettos in what has proven to be a pretty divisive casting.

In one camp, fans are arguing that she's one of the best actors out there and perfectly suited to the role. On the other hand, there are those who argue that her appointment reinforces all the harmful body image and self-esteem issues that the toy has long been accused of.

Whatever side of the fence you're on, Robbie wasn't actually the first choice for Barbie - it turns out Schumer was, instead.

The project has been in the pipeline for a long old time and 41-year-old actor and comedian Schumer was down to star in and write the film, but in 2017, she dropped out due to 'scheduling conflicts'.

Warner Bros. Pictures

But then last year, she revealed that it wasn't actually anything to do with schedules, it was creative differences that were the issue.

"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 told The Hollywood Reporter.

She explained that her iteration of Barbie would have been an ambitious inventor, but the studio wanted the invention to be a high heel made of jelly.

Schumer added: "The idea that that's just what every woman must want, right there, I should have gone, 'You've got the wrong gal'."

But while we won't see Schumer in the movie, a cast littered with stars was announced on Instagram yesterday (4 April), including Dua Lipa as a mermaid Barbie and Dame Helen Mirren as the voice narrator.

The film - from Oscar-nominated actress and director Greta Gerwig - will also see Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa take on the role of guitar-playing Ken and Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan as a diplomat Barbie.

UPI / Alamy Stock Photo

Other casting includes Ana Cruz Kayne as a Supreme Court Justice Barbie, The Crown's Emerald Fennell as Midge, Barbie's best friend, and Scott Evans as a cowboy hat-wearing Ken.

Michael Cera will appear as Ken's friend Allan, Issa Rae will play a president Barbie and Sex Education star Emma Mackey will portray a Barbie with a Nobel Prize in physics.

Human characters will be played by Ugly Betty actor America Ferrera, Elf star Will Ferrell, Stath Lets Flats star Jamie Demetriou and Sex Education's Connor Swindells.

The film is set for release on 21 July.