Photo credit: Warner Bros
Three years after Barbie became a $1.4 billion cultural phenomenon, Warner Bros. is reportedly actively trying to reunite the team behind the lucrative film for a sequel. There’s just one small problem: the studio is running out of time.
Warner Bros.' studio sequel rights revert to Mattel in December, meaning that the studio must reach agreements with key members before then. According to a July 31st report from the New York Times, those negotiations include stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, as well as writer-director Greta Gerwig, who is already working on the screenplay. Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling don’t have contractual obligations to return for a sequel to the 2023 blockbuster, as is common in many studio agreements. That’s given them considerable bargaining leverage since becoming Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing theatrical release.
The studio has reportedly been negotiating with the talent for months. The Times reports that proposals have included larger up-front salaries as well as profit participation if a sequel hits certain box-office benchmarks. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has reportedly considered some of the proposed compensation packages too expensive, slowing negotiations. Gosling alone is seeking approximately $20 million to return as Ken.
The more promising news for anyone actually hoping for another trip to Barbie Land is that Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach reportedly have an idea for the sequel. They have not revealed the concept to Warner Bros., however, and apparently do not intend to do so until the business agreements are settled.
No plot, production schedule, release date, or finalized cast has been announced, meaning Barbie 2 still can’t be described as greenlit.
Further complicating the picture is another Barbie movie already in development. Mattel Studios and Illumination, the company behind Super Mario Bros. and Despicable Me, reached a deal in 2025 to develop the first animated Barbie movie made for theatrical release. Universal Pictures will distribute that project. It’s totally separate from Gerwig’s live-action film and its prospective sequel.
Gerwig’s Barbie earned roughly $1.45 billion worldwide, became 2023’s highest-grossing movie and turned a toy adaptation into one of the decade’s biggest pop-culture moments. It’s easy to see why the stakes are high for Warner Bros.
Barbie 2 is closer to reality than it ever has been, but the movie still depends on Warner Bros. making the numbers work. With the looming rights deadline right around the corner, the next few months will likely determine whether Robbie’s Barbie and Gosling’s Ken actually make it back to the big screen.
Jenny Catlin is an award-winning writer and pop culture enthusiast based in the square states. She’s a contributing writer to The Athletic, a Lighthouse Writers Book Project Fellow, and an indie wrestling die-hard who is obsessed with obsession. You can find her on Instagram or Substack.