Barbie has finally arrived in theaters and, as things stand, all signs point to it being the biggest movie of 2023. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, but there's one joke which has proven to be predictably divisive.
Be warned that we are getting into minor spoiler territory from this point on!
In the later stages of the movie, toxic masculinity infects Barbieland and the Kens start taking over. That results in the Barbies being brainwashed to serve their horse-loving men, and the entire thing is as hilarious as you've probably heard.
However, it's at this point Barbie delivers a joke aimed squarely at Zack Snyder's Justice League.
When "Writer Barbie," played by Alexandra Shipp, regains her senses, she describes the time she spent brainwashed as follows: "It's like I've been in a dream where I was really invested in the Zack Snyder Cut of Justice League." It's a moment which received a lot of laughs in our screening, but was director Greta Gerwig ever worried about p*ssing off an incredibly passionate fanbase?
"I didn't even really realize that," she admitted in an interview with ComicBook.com when they pointed out how vocal the SnyderVerse faithful are. "I didn't even...because I don't have a dog in this fight, I didn't even really know, I knew it was a thing. I don't know the contours of all the ins and outs. But it's the kind of thing that I vaguely know."
"But I think that was the thing, that it was like if [Writer Barbie] had a vague knowledge of, and then all of a sudden in a certain state, it really meant a lot to her, and then it went away."
Anyone who's legitimately offended by this gag probably needs to get out more, especially as the Snyder Cut finally saw the light of day back in 2021 when it debuted on HBO Max. Ultimately, this is a funny moment in a hilarious movie and one that works well in the context of what's going on in Barbieland.
Barbie is now playing in theaters, while Zack Snyder's Justice League remains available on Max, Digital, and Blu-ray.