A bunch of properties got announce that they were optioned for films this week, and the least surprising among the group was Barbie. Barbie has at least 27 animated films released direct to video with more on the way, and there is even a surprisingly funny web series called Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse, which takes place in a world where all the characters are dolls and Barbie has all the accessories and jobs she’s had over the past 60 years. It’s pretty tongue in cheek and the entire series is on YouTube and worth checking out if you need some fun goofy fluff.

The Barbie film is being fast-tracked with production set to begin at the end of the year. I’m pleased to see a surprising amount of female names attached to the project, specifically writer Jenny Bicks, who will be doing the script based on a pitch she created along with Parkes/MacDonald Productions. Mattel’s Playground Productions’ Julia Pistor will executive produce along with Parkes/MacDonald’s Marc Resteghnini. Sony studio chief Amy Pascal was instrumental in getting the deal done, aalong with production president Hannah Minghella. That is a lot of femme power, and hopefully it translates well into a good Barbie film that has a lot of female involvement, unlike the Jem movie, which seems to be going ahead with an almost entirely male writer/producer/director team. The real key will be if they attach a female director.

Besides the film being a life-action contemporary take on Barbie, no further details are available at this time.

Astute movie news fans might remember that a Barbie movie was promised way back in 2009, but it seems The Lego Movie making so much money was the final straw that pushed Mattel forward with going ahead with the deal. You might recall they originally didn’t even want Barbie in Toy Story, but after that made buckets of cash, the suddenly were okay with her showing up in the sequels.

via Deadline