Warner Bros. faces a December deadline to secure deals with Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and Greta Gerwig for a Barbie sequel. Ongoing negotiations have stalled over multi-million-dollar upfront salaries and back-end profit demands, leaving the future of the franchise in limbo before its rights revert to Mattel.
The cinematic return to Barbie Land has hit a formidable financial roadblock. Production on the highly anticipated sequel to Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster is reportedly in limbo, as Warner Bros. Discovery executives clash with lead actors Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling over salary demands and back-end profit participation, according to industry insiders familiar with the negotiations.
The Stalled Negotiations and Financial Demands Behind Barbie 2
Representatives for the talent submitted compensation models that included upfront guarantees paired with percentage cuts of the sequel’s back-end profits.
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The original film earned more than $1.4 billion at the box office and garnered eight Oscar nominations, turning into a global cultural phenomenon. Gosling earned an estimated $12.5 million for his role in the first film, but after his performance scored him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, he angled for a significantly larger pay package for the sequel, according to regional reporting.
Warner Bros. Defends Offers Amid Standoff Over Rights Reversion
The studio finds itself operating under a strict legal deadline. Warner Bros. holds the cinematic rights to the Barbie intellectual property under a ticking clock, and if the studio fails to formalize a deal with Robbie, Gosling, and director Greta Gerwig by December, the film rights will automatically revert to Mattel.
Warner Bros. co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca publicly acknowledged the impasse, releasing a statement addressing the negotiations.
“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.”
Photo: The Hollywood Reporter
Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, studio co-chairs, via The Hollywood Reporter
In a statement to The Independent, a Warner Bros. spokesperson disputed that Zaslav had “balked” at the terms, asserting that talent representatives declined the most recent offer and have not submitted a counteroffer.
“Over three years, a half dozen offers have been made by WB to the creative team behind the original Barbie movie. There was never an agreed upon framework that was approved and pulled back. Reps declined the most recent offer which is among the biggest Warner Bros. has made for a film. No counter has been made to date. With respect to Mattel’s rights, they cannot move toward [sic] with any of the original elements from the first film in the event the rights were to revert.”
Warner Bros. spokesperson, via The Independent
Greta Gerwig’s Vision and the Future of Barbie Land
Gerwig and her co-writer Noah Baumbach have had an idea for a sequel for a couple of years.
Ryan Gosling DEMANDS $50M Pay For Barbie Sequel; Says He's The Reason For Original Movie's Success
“Everything went into ‘Barbie’ — and that’s how Greta works. She finishes every movie on empty, feeling like she could never make another movie because she put everything she had into that one. So I don’t know what it would take to fill that cup up again for her. Or for us. I think Warners would also agree. I don’t know what more could even look like. We want to make more films that have the effect that ‘Barbie’ has.”
Margot Robbie, actor and producer, via Courier Mail
Should the December deadline pass without a signed agreement, the rights will revert to Mattel.
