The early critical acclaim Barbie received was already a big deal, but the Margot Robbie-led movie has also been crushing at the box office (alongside Oppenheimer) in the two weeks since its wide release. At the time of this writing, the feature has made over $835 million worldwide and is likely to join The Super Mario Bros. Movie in crossing the $1 billion mark this year. With a performance like that, Barbie 2 being greenlit would seem like a foregone conclusion, right? Well, not so fast.
Even ignoring the fact that the current writers and actors strikes mean would complicate Warner Bros. Pictures’ plans to announce a sequel in normal circumstances, apparently there’s a more important factor that doesn’t guarantee Barbie 2 will happen. As detailed by THR, unlike what is often done with big franchises these days, talent like Robbie, costar Ryan Gosling and director Greta Gerwig did not sign deals to return for a sequel. This is in sharp contrast with Paramount Pictures announcing it was moving forward with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem sequel one week before the first movie hits theaters.
For Margot Robbie, who was also one of Barbie’s producers, she’s by no means obligated to reprise her Stereotypical take on the title doll at this time. It’s also possible that even if Barbie 2 moved forward, she could solely contribute behind the scenes and leaving the lead acting duties to another actress. Then there’s Gosling, who, as noted in the report, usually eschews starring in sequels and has a “general aversion for big studio tentpoles.” So unless he could be convinced otherwise, Barbie 2 would have to pick a new Ken to hang out by the main Barbie’s side, whether it’s Robbie’s or someone else.
As for Gerwig, who also co-wrote the movie with her partner Noah Baumbach, apparently Warner Bros. made “overtures” for her to direct Barbie 2 several months before the first movie came out. However, here representatives opted to hold on reaching a decision until Barbie came out, which, as mused in THR’s article “end up as one of the smartest agenting moves of the year.” Still, as mentioned earlier, the strikes make any negotiating impossible right now, but let’s also not forget Greta Gerwig is already primed to direct a new Chronicles of Narnia movie for Netflix. As such, even if she wanted to return for a Barbie sequel, that may need to be put on the back burner if her helming duties at the streaming platform take priority.
And of course, even if Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig are all game for Barbie 2, Barbie’s overwhelming successes means that these three are in excellent positions to demand significant pay raises to return. So to be clear, a sequel isn’t off the table, but there’s certainly a lot that would need to be settled to make it happen, and no progress can be made until the strikes are over. If Barbie 2 ends up not being in the cards though, at least fans can take comfort knowing that the way Barbie’s ending wrapped things up make this popular 2023 new movie release an exceptional one-and-done story.
Rest assured, if/when the day comes that Barbie 2 is officially announced, we here at CinemaBlend will let you know. Until then, read through the sublime details you’ll notice when watching Barbie a second time, and stay tuned for when the movie will be released on home media and becomes available to stream with a Max subscription.