The 2023 Barbie film earned over $1.4 billion globally and became the highest-grossing release of that year. Its sequel is not moving.
Warner Bros. has been unable to finalize deals with director Greta Gerwig, star Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling. A December 2026 deadline now hangs over the project: if no agreement is reached, the rights revert to Mattel, which could then develop the IP independently with a new filmmaker and new cast.
According to The Wrap, the studio last made an offer to talent in May 2026. No counter-offer has followed. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav rejected the studio's latest proposals as too generous, per Variety. WB motion picture co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca stated: "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."
Gosling is seeking $20 million to return as Ken. He has since signed to play Ghost Rider in a 2028 Marvel project, adding a competing commitment to a stalled negotiation. Gerwig and her writing partner Noah Baumbach have developed a story concept but are withholding it until contracts are finalized.
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz has made the toy company's position clear. "We expect projects to move and be in active development," he told The Wrap. "We don't want to sit on the back burner."
The situation is a study in post-merger austerity. The studio's own CEO is blocking offers its executives want to make, on a sequel to the biggest film in living memory of the franchise. If nothing closes by December, the Barbie sequel becomes a reboot. Or nothing at all.
