‘Barbie 2’ May Not Happen Over Pay Disagreement
When Barbie grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide in 2023, it was almost inconceivable that Warner Bros. would not make a sequel.
Almost.
Now, per multiple media reports, the sure thing is not so certain, with the two sides that need to agree to make the movie — namely distributor Warner Bros. and the filmmakers like director Greta Gerwig — stuck at an impasse over a potential deal.
According to Variety “the studio has made more than six offers in the past three years, all of which have been rejected” by Gerwig, co-writer Noah Baumbach, producer/star Margot Robbie, and co-star Ryan Gosling.
Their report comes just a few weeks after a similar article in The New York Times, which claimed the studio was “scrambling” to work something out before the rights to make Barbie movies revert back to toy manufacturer Mattel in December.
READ MORE: The Best Movies Based on Toys
Variety adds that “in what could be his final months running Warner Bros. Discovery, [David] Zaslav has dug in and taken a stand against the team’s massive (but justifiable, per many sources) pay demands.” (Somewhat surprisingly, the creative team’s deals for the first Barbie did not include agreements for any sequels — a fact that left anonymous sorces quoted in this Variety article “aghast.”)
Given the staggering amount of money the first Barbie made, and the ticking clock to make a sequel, one would think the two sides will eventually find a way to make a deal before December. Then again, Warner Bros. Discovery is in the midst of this massive (and at least somewhat imperiled) merger with Paramount Skydance. We don’t know how much the uncertainty around that deal could impact something like future tentpole films like Barbie 2.
On the other hand, if Paramount reaches a settlement in the antitrust lawsuit surrounding the merger, and David Ellison takes control of Warner Bros., he could throw a Dreamhouse worth of money at this problem and solve it instantly. Let’s see what happens.
