Barbie director Greta Gerwig said Ryan Gosling's now iconic “I'm Just Ken” dance happened because she said in a meeting, “Everything in me needs this,” Variety reported.

In the script, the scene was written just as “And then it becomes a dream ballet and they work it out through dance.”

Gerwig said she was inspired by the 1952 film Singing in the Rain. The movie contained “a dream ballet inside of a dream ballet,” she further explained. “If people could follow that in ‘Singing in the Rain,' I think we'll be fine. I think people will know what this is. So that was the big reference point,” she added.

Gerwig's Barbie made history this year as the highest-grossing film by a solo female director. Its global box office earnings have totaled more than $1 billion, and is currently the highest-grossing movie of 2023 to date.

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The movie, led by Margot Robbie as the titular character and Ryan Gosling as Ken, was about the famous dolls' entry into the real world. They were joined by America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Helen Mirren and Will Ferrell. It also included cameos, memorably from WWE star and actor John Cena.

Gerwig also talked about her reaction to the mania surrounding the movie when it was released. She said that it felt reassuring that “the song that's in my heart is in other people's hearts,” at her BFI London Film Festival's Screen Talk.  She might be referring to Billie Eilish's “What Was I Made For?” which spawned TikTok memes on whether the lyrics could be “although enjoyment” or “all the enjoyment.”

The movie's release in July saw its fans of all ages dressed in pink, some recreating their favorite Barbie costumes. Many who saw it once, saw it again, greeting other patrons with the now iconic line, “Hi, Barbie!”

Gerwig's next project is still under wraps, but she admits that it has been challenging.

She said, “I'm working on something right now, but I'm in the writing process and it's hard and I'm having nightmares.”

It might be safe to say that it's not the Barbie sequel.