There may be no encore to Barbie as the film’s planned sequel faces an uncertain future due to stalled negotiations over compensation between Warner Bros. and the film’s creative team. A new report now states that the stalemate has put the project at risk of being shelved.
Barbie 2 sequel looks uncertain
Director Greta Gerwig, co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach, star and producer Margot Robbie and actor Ryan Gosling have come back for a potential sequel to the 2023 blockbuster, Variety reported. The original film became the highest-grossing film directed by a woman, minting $1.4 billion globally.
According to the report, Warner Bros. has made more than six offers to the filmmaking team over the past three years for a sequel, but all have been rejected.
The latest offer, made late this spring, was described by a studio source as the highest the studio has ever offered to a filmmaking team and its stars, with one source calling it “life-changing money”.
However, another deal source disputed that benchmark, saying the overall package may be historic while individual compensation is not. The creative team is understood to be seeking higher upfront fees and increased back-end participation. For instance, Ryan Gosling has asked for $20 million to reprise his Oscar-nominated role as Ken.
Complicated negotiations for WB
Sequels to Hollywood blockbusters are usually easy to greenlight, but what complicates matters for Barbie is that the original contracts reportedly contained no obligation to make a sequel. This means that the film’s creative team has the liberty and leverage to negotiate better terms for themselves. According to reports, Gerwig and Baumbach do have an idea for a sequel, but they will not reveal details until agreements are signed.
Warner Bros. executives are racing against time to greenlight the film, as they have only four months to begin production before they lose the rights to the intellectual property. As per WB’s original agreement with Mattel, the creator of the Barbie doll, if the studio does not put another Barbie movie into active development by the end of 2026, the rights to the iconic doll will revert to Mattel, forcing a full reboot without using Gerwig’s version as a starting point
Mattel may want a sequel greenlit, too, as the first film caused a huge boost in Barbie doll sales. But the sales have since declined.
