Negotiations for the Barbie sequel: Warner Bros. rushes to meet the deadline
3 august 2026 в 12:37
In 2023, Greta Gerwig’s film «Barbie» grossed $ 1,447,138,421, significantly exceeding a billion. This is a remarkable achievement for a film directed by a woman, co-written by a woman, featuring a multitude of women, and dedicated to universal themes of femininity and girlhood. The film contains excellent feminist messages, albeit somewhat basic. Three years ago, I wondered why there was not more discussion about a «Barbie» sequel, even though I knew that Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie had rare contracts without sequel clauses. To this day, I do not understand why Margot and Greta’s teams delayed discussions about a sequel for so long. However, they are now approaching a deadline in December with Mattel, and negotiations are becoming increasingly interesting.
According to information from the NY Times, the success of «Barbie» left Warner Bros. with a clear commercial mandate: to start production on a sequel as soon as possible. However, a deal has not yet been reached, and time is running out. The rights to «Barbie» will revert to Mattel, the company behind the iconic doll, if Warner Bros. does not finalize a deal with the key participants for a sequel by December. This has led to active measures.
According to three sources familiar with the negotiations, the studio’s deal for the sequel stipulates that Mattel will receive a percentage of the film’s gross profits, similar to the agreement for the first film. However, Warner Bros. still needs to reach agreements with the participants from the first film, including writer and director Greta Gerwig, as well as stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
The studio’s management has been negotiating with the participants for several months. Proposals have included a profit share for key participants if the film reaches a certain box office level, as well as some preliminary increases, including a $ 20 million payment to Gosling (his current asking price). However, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, deemed these proposals, including the timelines for profit participation, too generous and did not sign them.
A Warner Bros. representative placed the blame on the talent representatives, stating that they rejected the last offer made in May and have not yet made a new one. She denied the claim that Zaslav rejected terms agreed upon by his executives. The studio’s co-founders, Pam Abdi and Michael De Luca, stated in their message: «We have an agreement with Mattel, and we have made a number of significant offers to try to finalize deals for the next 'Barbie' film. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to reach an agreement».
Mattel declined to comment on the negotiations. In recent years, under CEO Ynon Kreiz, the company has become much more astute and aggressive in Hollywood deal-making. Kreiz has previously stated that he wants to avoid such delays. «We expect projects to move forward and be in active development», - he said in an interview in May, discussing his strategy. «We don’t want to be left behind».
If Mattel decides to sever ties with Warner Bros., the toy manufacturer will have to develop «Barbie» from scratch. The companies will not be allowed to use plot elements or actors at another studio.
Negotiations for the sequel are occurring because Gerwig and her lead actors did not want to include sequel clauses in their contracts when signing the agreement for the first «Barbie» film, three sources familiar with the negotiations reported. Studios often insist on including sequel clauses in original deals, but the studio wanted Gerwig to write and direct the film, so Warner Bros. took a risk and proceeded without a promised sequel. If a deal is reached, the film will still require several years to hit theaters. Nevertheless, according to sources, Gerwig, who is finishing work on «The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew» for Netflix, and her writing partner and husband, Noah Baumbach, have made it clear in negotiations that they have a story they want to tell
According to information from the NY Times, the success of «Barbie» left Warner Bros. with a clear commercial mandate: to start production on a sequel as soon as possible. However, a deal has not yet been reached, and time is running out. The rights to «Barbie» will revert to Mattel, the company behind the iconic doll, if Warner Bros. does not finalize a deal with the key participants for a sequel by December. This has led to active measures.
According to three sources familiar with the negotiations, the studio’s deal for the sequel stipulates that Mattel will receive a percentage of the film’s gross profits, similar to the agreement for the first film. However, Warner Bros. still needs to reach agreements with the participants from the first film, including writer and director Greta Gerwig, as well as stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.
The studio’s management has been negotiating with the participants for several months. Proposals have included a profit share for key participants if the film reaches a certain box office level, as well as some preliminary increases, including a $ 20 million payment to Gosling (his current asking price). However, David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, deemed these proposals, including the timelines for profit participation, too generous and did not sign them.
A Warner Bros. representative placed the blame on the talent representatives, stating that they rejected the last offer made in May and have not yet made a new one. She denied the claim that Zaslav rejected terms agreed upon by his executives. The studio’s co-founders, Pam Abdi and Michael De Luca, stated in their message: «We have an agreement with Mattel, and we have made a number of significant offers to try to finalize deals for the next 'Barbie' film. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to reach an agreement».
Mattel declined to comment on the negotiations. In recent years, under CEO Ynon Kreiz, the company has become much more astute and aggressive in Hollywood deal-making. Kreiz has previously stated that he wants to avoid such delays. «We expect projects to move forward and be in active development», - he said in an interview in May, discussing his strategy. «We don’t want to be left behind».
If Mattel decides to sever ties with Warner Bros., the toy manufacturer will have to develop «Barbie» from scratch. The companies will not be allowed to use plot elements or actors at another studio.
Negotiations for the sequel are occurring because Gerwig and her lead actors did not want to include sequel clauses in their contracts when signing the agreement for the first «Barbie» film, three sources familiar with the negotiations reported. Studios often insist on including sequel clauses in original deals, but the studio wanted Gerwig to write and direct the film, so Warner Bros. took a risk and proceeded without a promised sequel. If a deal is reached, the film will still require several years to hit theaters. Nevertheless, according to sources, Gerwig, who is finishing work on «The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew» for Netflix, and her writing partner and husband, Noah Baumbach, have made it clear in negotiations that they have a story they want to tell
© Kolganov Andrey
