‘Barbie’ Sequel in Trouble as Warner Bros. Deadline with Mattel Approaches Here’s What’s Happening
A follow-up to ‘Barbie’, which grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide and received eight Academy Award nominations, seemed almost guaranteed. However, the anticipation for a sequel has been slowly unraveling behind the scenes at Warner Bros.
Recent reports from The New York Times indicate that negotiations between the studio and the film’s key creative team have stalled, primarily due to disagreements over compensation that Warner Bros. Discovery leadership has been hesitant to approve.
According to a fresh report from Variety, the situation has become increasingly serious. Warner Bros. has made more than six offers to the ‘Barbie’ creative team over the last three years, all of which have been turned down. The studio now has only four months left to initiate active development on a sequel before the film rights revert to Mattel.
At the heart of the impasse is a profit-participation structure linked to box office milestones. Director Greta Gerwig, star and producer Margot Robbie, and co-star Ryan Gosling are advocating for this structure as part of any new agreement. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has reportedly deemed these terms too generous, although a studio spokesperson has countered that talent representatives rejected an offer made in May and have yet to provide a counteroffer.
The stakes are high as the original ‘Barbie’ cast and crew only signed on for one film, without a standard sequel-obligation clause. This leaves Warner Bros. without any contractual power to compel anyone to return for a follow-up, making it crucial to reach mutually agreeable terms.
Gosling, who received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as Ken, is reportedly seeking a salary increase to $20 million as part of any new deal. If Warner Bros. and Mattel fail to finalize agreements with Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling before the rights revert, Mattel would have to restart the franchise from scratch, involving a new filmmaker, cast, and creative direction, disconnected from the successful 2023 original.
Interestingly, Gerwig and her longtime collaborator Noah Baumbach already have a sequel concept in mind and are ready to start writing once contracts are finalized. However, they are currently withholding the idea from the studio.
Warner Bros. co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca addressed the ongoing standoff in a joint statement, confirming that the studio has a rights deal with Mattel and has made several substantial offers to finalize a deal for the next ‘Barbie’ film, while acknowledging that an agreement has not yet been reached.
The timing adds pressure given Warner Bros.’ broader box office challenges this year, following underwhelming performances from both ‘Supergirl’ and ‘The Bride.’ Missing the Mattel deadline on a franchise as valuable as ‘Barbie’ would represent another significant misstep for a studio already facing scrutiny over its recent decisions, including the shelving of ‘Coyote vs. Acme.’
With just months left before the rights could shift back to Mattel, all eyes are on whether Warner Bros. can finalize a deal that has already endured three years of unsuccessful negotiations.
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