The future of a potential Barbie sequel remains uncertain as Warner Bros. Discovery struggles to finalize contracts with the film’s core creative team, Variety reported. While the original movie was a massive hit that earned over $1.4 billion at the box office and secured eight Academy Award nominations, the studio is currently facing a significant hurdle in securing its stars and director for a follow-up.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has reportedly pushed back against requests for rich deals that include profit participation for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Ryan Gosling, who earned a best supporting actor Oscar nomination for his work as Ken, is looking to increase his salary to $20 million.
A spokesperson for the studio maintains that there was never an approved, agreed-upon framework that was later pulled back. The current situation is complicated by the fact that the original contracts were only for a single movie. Warner Bros. did not require the cast to commit to sequels, as the studio wanted to ensure they could land Greta Gerwig as the director for the first installment.
The clock is ticking because the rights for the project are set to revert to Mattel in December
If an agreement isn’t reached by that deadline, Mattel would be forced to redevelop the intellectual property for a new movie, which would mean an entirely new filmmaker, cast, and concept. Warner Bros. co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca recently confirmed the ongoing tension in a statement, saying, “We have a rights deal with Mattel in place and have made a series of big offers to try and finalize deals to make the next ‘Barbie’ film. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement thus far.”
Over the past three years, the studio has made about six offers to the team behind the film. The representatives for the talent, including CAA, declined the most recent offer, which was among the largest the studio has put forward. There hasn’t been a counter-offer made yet. It is standard practice to renegotiate when a sequel wasn’t part of the initial paperwork, but the stakes here are high for both sides.
Greta Gerwig and her husband and writing partner, Noah Baumbach, reportedly have an idea for a new movie, but they are holding back on sharing the concept until the financial deals are settled. Margot Robbie has previously spoken about the pressures of creating a sequel. During a 2024 cover story for Variety, she noted, “It’s funny, that knee-jerk reaction in this day and age for everyone to immediately ask about a sequel. I don’t think it was like that 20 years ago. This wasn’t designed to be a trilogy.”
She also explained that Greta Gerwig leaves everything on the table when making a film. “Everything went into ‘Barbie’ — and that’s how Greta works,” Robbie said. “She finishes every movie on empty, feeling like she could never make another movie because she put everything she had into that one. So I don’t know what it would take to fill that cup up again for her. Or for us. I think Warners would also agree. I don’t know what more could even look like. We want to make more films that have the effect that ‘Barbie’ has.”
Even if a deal is reached, production would be a long way off. The stars have busy schedules, with Margot Robbie working on an Ocean’s 11 prequel for Warner Bros. and Ryan Gosling set for a role in a Marvel Ghost Rider movie and promotional duties for Star Wars: Starfighter. Despite the current standoff, both parties have a history of working together, and the potential for a lucrative sequel remains a strong incentive to find common ground.
Published: Aug 2, 2026 06:30 pm