Barbie 2 sequel stalled over salary negotiations with stars and director
Quick Look
- The sequel to the hit film Barbie, 'Barbie 2', faces uncertainty as salary negotiations with stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and director Greta Gerwig have stalled.
- Warner Bros must secure deals by December or the film rights revert to Mattel, potentially preventing the original creative team and story elements from being used.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Barbie film was a major cultural and box office success in 2023, earning an estimated $1.5bn and receiving eight Academy Award nominations. Despite its success, Warner Bros only had a one-movie deal with director Greta Gerwig and no sequel commitments from the stars.
The comedy mega-hit Barbie made an estimated $1.5bn (£1.1bn) at the box office, was nominated for eight Academy Awards and – alongside the biopic Oppenheimer – dominated the culture during the summer of 2023. A sequel had seemed a foregone conclusion. However, the development of Barbie 2 has stalled over salary negotiations, putting the entire project in jeopardy, according to a report in the New York Times.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the first film’s stars, and its director and co-writer Greta Gerwig, are yet to agree on terms. Gosling, who was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as Barbie’s boyfriend Ken, is reportedly asking for $20m (£14.8m) to return to the role. All three are represented by the same talent agency, CAA.
The film rights to Barbie are due to revert to Mattel, the toy company that manufactures the doll, if Warner Bros does not get deals in place with all three of them by December. The film studio’s co-chairs, Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, said in a statement: “We have a rights deal with Mattel in place and have made a series of big offers to try and finalise deals to make the next Barbie film. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement thus far.”
If the rights were to return to Mattel and it wanted to make another Barbie film with a different studio, it would be unable to incorporate any original story elements from the first film, and Robbie, Gosling and Gerwig could not be involved.
As well as being the biggest hit of 2023, the highest-grossing live-action comedy ever and the 18th highest-grossing film in history, Barbie is also Warner Bros’s best-performing film. However, the studio only signed a one-movie deal with Gerwig and did not require the stars to commit to any sequels. “We didn’t build it to be a trilogy or something … We put everything into this one,” Robbie told Associated Press at the time. But Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, her writing partner and husband, have now said they do have an idea for a sequel, and are ready to begin writing if terms can be agreed.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Warner Bros will either finalize deals with the talent or lose the film rights to Mattel by December.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Will Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and Greta Gerwig agree to terms?
- Will Warner Bros secure deals before the December deadline?
- What will Mattel do if the rights revert to them?
