A Barbiesequel has stalled at Warner Bros. as the studio works to lock down new contracts with Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, according to a New York Timesreport.
The studio has until December to finalize deals with Robbie, Gosling and director Greta Gerwig before the film rights revert to Mattel.
Gosling’s asking price is reportedly $20 million, and Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav has been resistant to offers that include a cut of box office profits.
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca addressed the situation in a statement.
“We have a rights deal with Mattel in place and have made a series of big offers to try and finalize deals to make the next Barbie film. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement thus far.”
Complicating matters further, Gerwig and her husband and writing partner Noah Baumbach reportedly already have a story in mind for the sequel but are withholding it, declining to begin writing until contracts are finalized, a position that gives them added leverage in negotiations.
The original Barbie, Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling never signed sequel clauses when the first film was greenlit, an unusual gap for a franchise of its scale.
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz has previously said the company wants to avoid this kind of delay, stating, “We expect projects to move and be in active development. We don’t want to sit on the back burner.”
Even if a deal comes together, a sequel likely wouldn’t reach theaters until 2029 or 2030.
2026-08-01 08:43:00
