Sometimes, a film like “Barbie” making a billion at the global box office ($1.4 billion isn’t peanuts) doesn’t automatically mean a sequel is 100% going to happen. There has been talk for a while now of some VERY EARLY development on “Barbie 2,” with director/co-writer Greta Gerwig, star/producer Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and co-writer Noah Baumbach among the collective creatives who would all have to agree with what Warner Bros. is offering them. Well, there are some signs that not everything is peachy keen, as a new report claims that development has been PAUSED.
That update is coming from Variety, which mentions that they have made at least “six offers” to the group of creatives, all of which have been “rejected” and were made over the last three years. So, while WB obviously wants a sequel, it doesn’t like that all parties are seeing eye-to-eye on how that should happen (upfront money, backend points, and extensive creative freedom could be part of this).
The outlet claims that, from a studio source, that the last offer took place back in late spring said to be the “highest” offer that Warner Bros. has made and would be “life-changing money,” We’re sure they were looking very closely to the deal made by Ryan Coogler for “Sinners,” where he ultiamtely would regain ownership of the film after certain amount of time (something likely would never be the case for “Barbie 2” because both Mattel and WB own the film’s rights). However, it sounds like they would be making more than what Coogler did in his deal, which was reportedly included first-dollar gross participation (something that not every director gets).
However, another deal source cited by Variety is said to have disputed this benchmark offer, saying “the price of the ‘package,’ the cost of all four, may be historic, but individual compensation is not.” So could they be holding out for more money? Apparently, they haven’t made a counteroffer, so what happens next is a little unclear when things have been paused.
There is a ticking clock angle here, as Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy have roughly four months to put their “Barbie” into “active development” or the rights to the iconic doll revert to toymaker Mattel, so they’ll have to hurry up to figure things out as the pressure continues. A kicker is that Mattel will not be allowed to use a shred of Gerwig’s “Barbie” for any future films and would have to do a full reboot instead (the audience demand would likely get deflated in that case). That said, Gerwig and Baumbach have an idea for a sequel; the trade has confirmed that detail with two sources, but they’ll have to agree and sign deals before anything moves forward (which they say might have to do with back-end deals and not so much about their upfront fees).
Taking on Gerwig’s perspective for a second, she’s coming off directing a new big-budget “Narnia” movie for Netflix that could end up launching a new string of films based on the fantasy novel penned by C.S. Lewis. So, the filmmaker certainly has IP options beyond doing a “Barbie” sequel she’s not totally comfortable making, and would likely have to be worthwhile to give another project, or dedicate a good chunk of time to doing another film that has WAY more expectations than the first one had after critical and audience praise via word of mouth was part of the massive success story.
Gosling is also getting into the franchise world beyond “Barbie 2,” leading Shawn Levy‘s “Star Wars: Starfighter” and “Ghost Rider“; both Disney-owned properties could mean sequels and a busy schedule for the foreseeable future. So, there are certainly some landmines to iron out, and Warner Bros. won’t have much time to figure things out before Mattel takes their ball home.
