'Barbie 2' Reportedly in Jeopardy Amid Stalled Negotiations With Warner Bros. Discovery
Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling face contract impasses with the studio as the rights clock ticks down.
Summary
Contract negotiations for a 'Barbie' sequel have reportedly stalled between Warner Bros. Discovery and the original creative team
Demands from Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling include significant increases in upfront compensation and backend profit participation
Warner Bros. has approximately four months to place a follow-up into active development before the IP rights revert to Mattel
Warner Bros. Discovery and the core creative team behind the record-breaking blockbuster Barbie have hit a major impasse regarding the development of Barbie 2.
The creative coalition—consisting of director and co-writer Greta Gerwig, co-writer Noah Baumbach, lead actor and producer Margot Robbie, and co-star Ryan Gosling—remains uncommitted to a follow-up after their original deals included no sequel options. While Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav and film heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy have reportedly delivered more than six offers over three years, including an unprecedented financial package, negotiations led by CAA have reached a deadlock primarily over backend participation terms.
The standstill puts the future of the multibillion-dollar franchise at immediate risk. Warner Bros. has an estimated four-month window to place another film into active development before the theatrical rights to the doll revert to Mattel. Should the negotiations fall through completely, Mattel would face a full creative reboot without access to Gerwig’s established cinematic universe.
