But news that comedian Amy Schumer is to tackle the iconic toy, frequently criticised for her narrow waist and bland values, suggests that Barbie is in for a major makeover.

The US studio Sony and Barbie's owners, the toy giant Mattel, are pairing up on the project.

Schumer, whose credits include the film Trainwreck and the television series Inside Amy Schumer, is expected to serve as a co-writer on the film.

A script already exists - from writer Hilary Wilson - but US media report Schumer and her sister Kim Caramele will rewrite the script.

Caramele, who does not have a large media profile, is a frequent collaborator on Schumer's projects and was described recently as Schumer's "secret weapon".

The Hollywood Reporter says the Barbie reboot will take a "contemporary spin on beauty, feminism and identity."

In the film, Schumer's Barbie will be portrayed as a misfit in the perfect "Barbieland", eventually expelled and forced to contend with living in the real world where she discovers her uniqueness is an advantage.

Sony's plans to develop a live-action Barbie film have been a slow burner for the US studio.

The deal for the movie was finalised in 2014 but studio executives have spent the almost three years since looking for the right script.

With Schumer now attached, the studio is said to be searching for a director.

Barbie was created by Mattel in 1959 and has become one of the most successful toy brands in the world, worth a reported US$3 billion annually.

Developing an Amy Schumer-led Barbie reboot, however, may be a sign from the company they are hoping for a more substantial reinvention of how the brand is perceived in the market.

Mattel has come in for sustained criticism in recent years for promoting an unhealthy body image to young girls via Barbie's unnaturally thin waist and for a lack of cultural and racial diversity in the doll's product line.

The company has tried to combat those perceptions by releasing a line of international Barbie dolls in cultural and national dress, and to surround her with a diverse group of friends.

The company was also forced to take a Barbie tie-in book, I Can Be a Computer Engineer, off the market in 2014 after criticism that Barbie was depicted in it as incapable of working with computers and depended on two male friends for help.