Ever since Marvel star Simu Liu appeared in the first Barbie movie trailer he’s probably been the most hotly anticipated of the Kens, with fans even more interested in his character than they are in prime Ken, played by Ryan Gosling. But who is Simu Liu’s Ken, exactly? We all know the Kens are “just Ken,” but they do have at least some distinguishing features, so what is it about Simu Liu’s Ken that sets him apart? What’s his Thing, his identifying feature amongst the morass of other Kens? Here’s everything we’ve been able to dig up so far.
Simu Liu is just Ken 2
Actually he’s just listed as Ken on the IMDb page, like all the other Barbies and Kens; no numerals or designations to set them apart. However, people have been referring to him as Ken 2 across the internet—presumably because he’s the only other speaking Ken in the trailer and/or the second Ken we’ve seen—so using Ken 2 to set Liu apart from Gosling’s prime Ken seems reasonable enough. As for who he is, we really don’t know that much about him! The Barbie movie people are really committed to the bit of Ken being, well, just Ken, an outfit-matching accessory for the various Barbies in all their different styles and careers.
However! We can use what we have seen of Simu Liu’s Ken in the trailer—and his Inception-like real world Ken doll that you can actually buy now—to deduce a little about what type of Ken he might be. These are all just guesses, but until we actually see the movie or hear otherwise, guessing is all we’ve got so let’s roll with it.
We first see Ken 2 at the beach, in beachwear and holding a surfboard, which might mean he’s a Malibu Ken. But the Barbies and Kens all change their outfits according to the situation—Gosling’s Ken is also in beachwear and holding a surfboard in that scene—so by itself the outfit may mean nothing at all. However, Ken 2 does seem to be in his element as he smugly wins the pitched battle beach-off against prime Ken, which might mean that while the other Kens are dressed the part, Simu Liu’s Ken is the true Ken of that location.
That said, Liu’s Ken doll is dressed in a white and gold tracksuit, rather than a beach fit, which may indicate he’s a Ken for some other purpose—though given exactly how multi-purpose athleisure wear is at this point, that purpose could be literally anything from race car driver to rapper.
What we do know is that Simu Liu’s Ken seems to be the sworn enemy, or at least bitter rival, of Gosling’s Ken, serving as something of an antagonist until Margot Robbie’s Barbie and Gosling’s Ken leave Barbieland for the real world. A temporary rival to the atavistic soul of the supporting character that is Ken may not seem like much, but Liu has clearly brought so much personality and intrigue to the role so far that it’s going to be a lot of fun watching him—however briefly he may appear in the movie.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
