Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?
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The cultural steamroller that is the Barbie movie has been speeding ever-nearer since 2018, when Warner Bros. Pictures first scooped up the rights to Mattel’s best-known money-maker. There was always the hope that Ms. Barbara Roberts—as embodied by actress Margot Robbie—could pull big numbers at the box office, but the response since Barbie set photos first dropped in 2022 surprised even her most ardent supporters (and her manufacturers). The images of Robbie and co-star Ryan Gosling in head-to-toe neon and roller blades, skating along Venice Beach, lit social media ablaze. A year later, Barbie is has already crossed $200 million at the U.S. box office and is projected to make $500 million globally; Robbie is one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood; and Barbiecore is the hottest trend in fashion.
With results of that caliber, Mattel—already keen on transferring as many of its toys onto the big screen as possible—would be hard-pressed to find reasons not to make a Barbie sequel. It certainly seems a likely outcome, given comments made by both Robbie herself and Barbie director Greta Gerwig in recent months.
As Robbie told Time in June, “[The story] could go a million different directions from this point. But I think you fall into a bit of a trap if you try and set up a first movie whilst also planning for sequels.” Gerwig followed that comment by tossing a tidbit to Entertainment Tonight in July: “I’m just focused on getting this one out and crossing all my fingers and toes. And then we’ll see what happens after that.”
We know from recent reporting at The New Yorker that Mattel has dozens of toy-inspired projects in the world, including films about Barney, He-Man, and Polly Pocket. It would stand to reason a Barbie sequel would be a natural extension of the company’s already no-holds-barred Hollywood strategy. But now that the movie is a hit, where do they stand on a sequel?
Sure enough, speaking to the New York Times following opening weekend, Gerwig shut down hopes for a sequel or franchise. “At this moment, it’s all I’ve got,” she said of her singular Barbie film. “I feel like that at the end of every movie, like I’ll never have another idea and everything I’ve ever wanted to do, I did. I wouldn’t want to squash anybody else’s dream but for me, at this moment, I’m at totally zero.”
However, Mattel's CEO Ynon Kreiz teased other Barbie projects. He told Variety, “Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe. It’s a very rich universe… It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.”
He concluded, “At the outset, we’re not saying, ‘Okay, let’s think already about movie two and three.’ Let’s get the first one right and make that a success. And if you do that, opportunities open up very quickly, once you establish the first movie as a successful representation of a franchise on the big screen.”
This story will be updated.
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