Margot Robbie’s ‘Barbie’ Just Got a Massive Sequel Update & We’re Not Sure How We Feel About It

Given the original film’s cultural dominance and record-breaking box office run in 2023, most industry watchers assumed a follow-up was less a question of if than when. That assumption has taken a hit this week. Behind-the-scenes reporting suggests the path to actually making ‘Barbie 2’ is far messier than fans might expect, with the people who made the first film such a phenomenon still not officially locked in to return. According to a new report from The New York Times, Greta Gerwig is ready to begin writing ‘Barbie 2,’ with Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Gerwig all in talks to return, but Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has not signed off on the deal because he reportedly believes some of the offers on the table are too generous. That single sticking point has stalled a project that otherwise seemed to have all its key pieces ready to go. The stakes attached to that stall are significant. Warner Bros. reportedly has until December of this year to finalize a deal with Robbie, Gosling and Gerwig, or the film rights will revert back to Mattel entirely, according to the same Times report. Money appears to be the central obstacle. The studio’s proposed deal for the sequel would give Mattel a percentage of the film’s gross profits, similar to the arrangement on the original movie, while the offers to talent reportedly include a cut of profits contingent on box office performance, along with upfront pay bumps that include Gosling’s reported asking price of $20 million. Warner Bros. has pushed back on characterizations of the negotiations as stalled entirely. Studio co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca said in a statement that the studio has “a rights deal with Mattel in place” and has “made a series of big offers to try and finalize deals to make the next Barbie film,” while acknowledging they haven’t yet been able to reach an agreement. A studio spokesperson also disputed the Times’ characterization of the offers, noting that talent representatives declined an offer made in May and have not submitted a counteroffer since. Complicating matters further is the fact that Gerwig and her writing partner, Noah Baumbach, are reportedly ready with a story idea for the sequel, but the actual writing hasn’t begun and presumably won’t until contracts are finalized. That leaves the project in a strange holding pattern, with creative intent seemingly in place while the business side remains unresolved. There’s also a scheduling wrinkle worth considering. Gosling is now attached to Marvel’s ‘Ghost Rider’ as well as ‘Star Wars: Starfighter,’ both of which are expected to occupy significant chunks of his calendar over the next few years, meaning even a resolved deal wouldn’t guarantee a fast turnaround on ‘Barbie 2.’ For a franchise built on the idea of reinvention and cultural relevance, the reported friction over money feels almost fittingly Hollywood. Whether Warner Bros. manages to close the gap before the December deadline, or watches the rights slip back to Mattel entirely, should become clear in the months ahead.