The highly anticipated sequel to Barbie has hit a major hurdle, with Warner Bros. facing a deadline to finalise agreements with the original film’s key creative team before the rights return to Mattel, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
According to a report by The New York Times, Warner Bros. has until December to reach deals with Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and director-writer Greta Gerwig to move forward with the sequel.
If an agreement is not reached, the rights to the project will reportedly revert to toy company Mattel.
The studio has reportedly been negotiating with the principal cast and filmmaker for months, offering them a share of profits if the sequel achieves specific box office milestones.
However, the report claims Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav rejected the proposed arrangement, considering it “too generous”.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson disputed that description, saying representatives for the talent declined an offer made in May and have not yet presented a counterproposal.
“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,” Warner Bros. co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement thus far.”
Gerwig and her Barbie co-writer Noah Baumbach have reportedly been developing ideas for a follow-up film for several years.
The Hollywood Reporter previously revealed in 2024 that the pair were in the early stages of creating a story for Barbie 2.
However, details about the sequel’s plot and production timeline remain under wraps.
Released in July 2023, Barbie became one of the biggest cinematic successes in history, earning around $1.5 billion worldwide and receiving eight Academy Award nominations.
The film won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s “What Was I Made For?”
Beyond its box office performance, the movie became a global cultural event, driven by its distinctive pink aesthetic, extensive marketing campaign and its simultaneous release with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
The phenomenon was widely referred to as “Barbenheimer”, turning the two films into one of the most talked-about theatrical events of 2023.
With the original cast and Gerwig central to the sequel’s appeal, fans are now waiting to see whether Warner Bros. can secure the deals needed to return to Barbieland.
