Barbie 2 Production Stalls as Margot Robbie & Ryan Gosling’s Salaries Cause Roadblock

The Barbie sequel might never happen, and it all comes down to money. Salary disputes between the studio and its leading stars are threatening to derail the project entirely.

Barbie 2 will happen with Greta Gerwig on one condition

A Barbie sequel can only move forward if Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach agree to return. According to The New York Times, the duo has an idea for the film but won’t share it until deals close. Warner Bros. faces a December deadline before the sequel rights revert to Mattel for full redevelopment.

The studio has made half a dozen offers to the creative team over three years. Ryan Gosling seeks to raise his pay to $20 million for reprising the role of Ken. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav deemed the proposed profit participation terms too generous and refused to sign off.

Studio co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca confirmed the ongoing negotiations in a joint statement. “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,” they said. A Warner Bros. spokeswoman added that the talent’s reps declined the latest offer in May.

CAA represents Gerwig, Baumbach, Robbie, and Gosling in these ongoing negotiations. Renegotiating contracts is standard practice when sequel options weren’t part of original agreements. Warner Bros. only signed one-movie deals with the Barbie talent to secure Gerwig as director initially.

If the studio fails to finalize agreements by December, Mattel would redevelop the IP from scratch. That means hiring a new filmmaker, assembling a new cast, and developing an entirely fresh concept. Robbie previously addressed sequel expectations in a 2024 Variety cover story about her production company LuckyChap. “This wasn’t designed to be a trilogy,” she said at the time.

Robbie is currently filming an Ocean’s 11 prequel for Warner Bros. targeting a June 2027 release. Gosling recently joined Marvel’s Ghost Rider and will also promote Star Wars: Starfighter next year.

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