The sequel to Greta Gerwig’s 2023 box office hit, Barbie, is reportedly in limbo, as progress has been stalled thanks to failed negotiations surrounding the salaries of its two lead stars, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
As reported by The New York Times, Warner Bros studio heads have been negotiating with Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling for months without success, with sources stating that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav rejected offers which “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 Gosling US$20 million, which was his current asking price, deeming them “too generous”.
These negotiations also come at a crucial moment for Warner Bros, as the rights to Barbie will revert to Mattel if it does not make a deal with the principal talent for a sequel by December 2026. If the ongoing salary conflicts are not resolved by then, Mattel would have to redevelop the IP for a new movie, which means a complete change in concept, including finding a new filmmaker and cast.
Barbie made its theatrical debut in 2023 and starred Robbie as Stereotypical Barbie, who leaves the utopian Barbieland for the real world to fix an existential crisis. The film also stars Gosling as Beach Ken, Kate McKinnon as Weird Barbie, Simu Liu as Rival Ken, Rhea Perlman as Mattel co-founder Ruth Handler, and Michael Cera as Allan. The film was directed by Gerwig and produced by Robbie via her LuckyChap production company.
Apart from being a hit at the box office, the film also fueled a cultural movement thanks to its close release proximity with Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which led to the “Barbenheimer” nickname, which became an internet meme sensation at the time.
While December is the deadline for the Barbie sequel to begin development, production will still likely take a while even if the current salary negotiations are resolved, as Robbie is currently hard at work on her Ocean’s 11 prequel for Warner Bros, which is set for release in June 2027, while Gosling will be busy with both Disney’s Star Wars: Starfighter, which launches on 28 May 2027, and Marvel’s Ghost Rider, due in 2028.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
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