Courtesy of Warner Bros.
It looks like everyone is living in a "Barbie" world, and the party might not be over yet.
The 2023 Greta Gerwig-directed movie starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken raked in $1.4 billion globally, winning the box office battle against Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer."
"Barbie" wasn't just a box office sensation. The movie earned an 88% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, landed eight Oscar nominations, and became a pop culture phenomenon.
Given its critical and commercial success, it's only natural to wonder whether the studio is planning "Barbie 2" with Mattel, the toy company behind Barbie.
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz previously told Time magazine that the company is keen to make "more 'Barbie' movies."
"We're looking to create movies that become cultural events. If you can excite filmmakers like Greta and Noah to embrace the opportunity and have creative freedom, you can have a real impact," he said.
At the time, Gerwig said she was unsure about taking on a sequel, but a new report suggests that she might be back for more.
In an interview published in July 2023, the director told The New York Times that she exhausted all her ideas for "Barbie."
"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," Gerwig said.
She added, "I wouldn't want to squash anybody else's dream but for me, at this moment, I'm at totally zero."
However, speaking to Uproxx about Ken's obsession with Sylvester Stallone in the movie, Gerwig joked that the "Rocky" star could show up in "Barbie 2," or even direct it himself.
"You never know!" she said. "Or that he's going to direct it. I mean, he's welcome to it. It would be an honor. It would be such an honor."
While Gerwig wasn't sold on the idea of returning, star and producer Robbie told Time in June 2023 that conversations about a sequel had yet to happen.
"It could go a million different directions from this point," she said.
But Robbie also said that "you fall into a bit of a trap if you try and set up a first movie whilst also planning for sequels."
Mattel is also looking to make movies based on its other properties, like a Hot Wheels movie being developed by J.J. Abrams.
On December 13, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter published a story reporting that Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, who cowrote the "Barbie" screenplay, presented Warner Bros. with an idea for a sequel that was in the "early stages." The publication also said that talks about a deal were in similarly early stages.
Don't get excited yet, though: Gerwig and Baumbach's rep denied THR's report, telling the publication, "There is no legitimacy to this reporting."
And a rep for Warner Bros. said, "THR's reporting is inaccurate."
