Gosling fans, moviegoers and casual Twitter users have a visceral reaction to the image of the Canadian actor, who stars alongside Margot Robbie’s Barbie. This is the first official image of Gosling as a character made famous in Toy Alley.
According to the photo, Gosling has transformed into the quintessential Ken: his skin is tinged orange and he shows off eight-pack abs and bleached blonde hair. His underpants inexplicably bear his own name, and he wears a sleeveless denim vest with no shirt in front of a pink Pepto-Bismol background. Son Ken is a Malibu boy through and through.
But in terms of plot, the photo is all we have (along with a photo of Robbie posing in character with a pink convertible). Will Barbie get tired of Ken’s shirtless, vapid ways? Will Ken prove to his beloved Barb that he’s more than an absurd amount of abdominal muscle? Or will Ken conspire against Barbie and become the villain of her story?
Fans will have to wait until July 21, 2023, the movie’s release date, to find out what Barbie, Ken and Will Ferrell are up to.