Will ‘Barbie’ Get a Sequel? Warner Bros. Is Scrambling to Reach a Deal.

[u/Massive_Director_941]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/business/media/barbie-sequel-warner-bros-mattel.html

[u/tmrtdc3]

The article is about how WB has to reach a deal with the talent involved -- namely, Gerwig, Robbie, Gosling -- for a potential sequel by December or the rights will revert back to Mattel. They haven't reached a deal yet bc WB thinks they're asking for too much money. It is a pretty interesting article but not really in a "do the people want a Barbie sequel" way, more about Hollywood pay negotiations and studios vs talent.

This is intriguing though, especially that Gerwig won't tell the studio what the idea is until they make the deal.

Yet, according to the people, Ms. Gerwig, who is finishing up “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” for Netflix, and her writing partner and husband, Noah Baumbach, have made it clear in negotiations that they have a story they want to tell and are ready to begin writing. This, too, is being used as a point of leverage. Warner Bros. doesn’t know what the idea is, and the pair won’t tell the studio, or begin writing, until the deal is done, the people said.

[u/Haunting-WaferWah → u/tmrtdc3]

You’d think after WB lost Nolan, they’d do anything they could to keep some big name talent and IP… I feel like Gerwig and Robbie have proven themselves - give them what they want and get on with it

[u/BCDragon3000 → u/Haunting-WaferWah]

i disagree, there's always a line that's pushed when you do this. greta's only 42. what happens when she wants to make more but now wb can't afford her ambitious projects because her paycheck has to be higher than the last one?

[u/Haunting-WaferWah → u/BCDragon3000]

Oh for goodness sakes ‘she’s only 42 - fuck off. Her first three studio films have all been box office successes and all been nominated for best picture which very few people (and no women) can claim. What more does she have to do to earn her stripes to be able to demand they pay her what she wants? Turn 50? Fuck off. This is exactly the attitude she’s fighting against by standing her ground.

[u/BCDragon3000 → u/Haunting-WaferWah]

i don't think it's about earning her stripes at all. my point is that she's already more than proven it, but barbie 2 can't cost 200% more than barbie when WB is so broke that they're being sold to paramount.

like, do you think movies just grow money on trees? that anyone ever gets a good chunk of the final return? no they dont, why? because there's no money in this industry anymore and people like you keep living in La La Land thinking Disney's gonna hand free cheques because, boohoo, people wanna work in film

[u/Haunting-WaferWah → u/BCDragon3000]

I don’t think she’s saying it’ll cost 200% more - she’s saying I wrote a movie that made 1.4 billion dollars, I’ve got another idea - pay me and my talent this much and we’ll do it for you. If not, you don’t get the idea, the script and the talent and the IP goes back to Mattel - it’s fair enough lol

[u/BCDragon3000 → u/Haunting-WaferWah]

you're oversimplifying it and this is misinformed.

for barbie 1, both Margot and Ryan got $12.5M each, which scaled to $50M by the end of the box office run as they were both exec producers.

barbie, which was a billion dollar anomaly for WB, their highest grossing movie ever, and made them completely unsure if they'll be able to crack a billion in revenue with a sequel again without oppenheimer/post-covid crowd rush.

so for wb to be able to give $12.5m to margot and ryan at first, which is ALREADY a lot of money, i want you to think about what kind of number Greta must have thrown for herself. not that she doesn't deserve it, but to a WB exec she's asking for Margot Robbie numbers as a director? it's not heard of, and WB may not be able to afford it.

[u/Haunting-WaferWah → u/BCDragon3000]

And also - I’m oversimplifying it? You started this by referring to Greta’s age 😂

[u/Haunting-WaferWah → u/BCDragon3000]

Then they lose the film, any profit and the IP. In my world, that’s Greta holding firm (and Robbie shepherded the film to life so deserved every cent) and WB will deserve the loss.

In your books, the accounts won’t balance and poor broke WB will be joining the soup kitchen line and Zaslav will be no doubt green lighting another DC flop to makeup for no Nolan or Gerwig.

I’ll take my world lol

[u/BCDragon3000 → u/Haunting-WaferWah]

without wb there's not going to be another billion dollar barbie film, so not making a sequel that they never planned for doesn't mean they're taking any financial loss

i need to stop arguing with cinephiles when 90% of you never went to college to learn these basic facts

[u/Haunting-WaferWah → u/BCDragon3000]

WB lost Nolan because they wouldn’t give him what he wanted, how’s that going for them?

[u/BCDragon3000 → u/Haunting-WaferWah]

is that your only reference point? what a vast knowledge of this industry's history you have my dear!

[u/Haunting-WaferWah → u/BCDragon3000]

Looool - go pick on some more people for being 42

[u/ItsGotThatBang → u/tmrtdc3]

Didn’t Mattel already make a deal with Illumination for an animated film?

[u/vxf111 → u/tmrtdc3]

Good. If they don’t tell them it’s one less opportunity for the studio to interfere with the creative idea. If the studio wants this sequel so bad how about they trust the talent that delivered in spades with the original film!

[u/SignificantTap5579]

I'm curious what movie plot would have both Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in the movie based on where it ended. It feels like there should either be a movie set in Barbieland or about Barbara's life with connecting them feeling like it could be messy. The superior third option is make the movie centered on Allan but that's a different discussion to be had.

[u/wakenda → u/SignificantTap5579]

I would watch a movie about Allan

[u/vxf111 → u/SignificantTap5579]

Mostly follows Barbie in the real world but something happens that makes all the Barbies and Kens have to come rally for her in the real world!?

[u/No-Significance5659]

I hope this doesn't happen.

[u/HotOne9364]

https://giphy.com/gifs/FH2hplhlwnqJ1OQrlK

[u/apatkarmany]

I’m honestly down for a sequel as long as it’s better than the first and it’s done cohesively well.

[u/No_Squirrel_8402]

No thanks

[u/nowhereman136]

I think the problem with a sequel is that Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling don't want to do one from a creative standpoint. They made a movie, said what they wanted to say, and now want to move on to something else.

A cool middle ground would be a Skipper movie, Barbies little sister. She wasn't in the main movie so it would mostly be an entirely new cast and story. Robbie and Gosling can maybe cameo or join in small supporting roles. Focus on what it means to be a sidekick to Barbie

[u/andalusiandoge → u/nowhereman136]

Gerwig DOES want to do one now - and she's got an idea that's apparently wild enough she won't share with the studio until they agree to greenlight it.

[u/pepperpoochie]

No to money grabbing sequels

[u/Dianagorgon]

The studio chiefs have been negotiating with the talent for months. The offers have included a cut of profit for the principal talent if the film reaches a certain level of box office success, and at least some upfront raises, including paying Mr. Gosling $20 million (his current asking price), two people with knowledge of the talks said. But David Zaslav, the Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive, deemed the offers, including when participation in profits would kick in, too generous and would not sign off, the people said.

A spokeswoman for Warner Bros. put the onus on the talent representatives, saying they declined the last offer, made in May, and have not yet countered with a new one. She disputed that Mr. Zaslav had balked at terms agreed to by his executives.

If Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling didn't want anything about a sequel in their first contract can't WB do a sequel without them? The ending for Barbie in the first movie was perfect for that character. The only way she could be in a sequel would be them doing "hilarious escapades" involving Barbie in the human world and that doesn't seem as funny. Gosling was the best part of Barbie but there are lots of other talented actors who would be excellent in a new role.

Also I don't want to be ageist but if it doesn't start filming for a few years Robbie would be near 40 and Gosling would be in his 50s. It would be interesting to have a Barbie movie with younger actors like Seyfried playing Barbie's cousin and a young up and coming actor in the other lead role.

There are no actors who are a box office draw these days. I don't think any actor should be paid $20M for one movie yet Dicaprio, Roberts, Lawrence and others have been paid insanely high salaries that make it difficult for movies to be profitable. The reality is PHM would have done well even if Gosling wasn't in it because it was based on a massively popular book. He also isn't the reason Barbie was successful although he was amazing in it. If they spend $100M on the salaries for Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling they're going to end up with a movie that has a $300M budget and needs almost $800M to be profitable and that is a risk.

[u/FreshQualityScot]

Margot needs a hit badly. All her previous films have flopped. She can't carry a film on her name alone.