Margot Robbie Never Agreed To Barbie Sequel
Who would have thought that a movie about Mattel’s most famous doll would become one of the highest-grossing films in the history of cinema? Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has joined 52 other films in the billion-dollar club, creating a new record as the fastest Warner Bros. film to hit this coveted rank in just 17 days (beating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 by two days). However, despite being in the top 50 of the most successful films ever made, Greta Gerwig and her stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are not under contract to make a sequel.
Margot Robbie has no contract obligations to ever make a Barbie sequel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, it’s unusual for a hit of Barbie’s magnitude not to strike up a conversation about follow-up films. Normally, studios are eager to capitalize on the momentum of a film’s success and make as many sequels as possible before the audiences burn out (read: all five Pirates of the Caribbean movies or the 32 and counting Marvel films continuously being released).
Indeed, Paramount Pictures, for instance, had already announced plans for a sequel to the newly released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem a week before its theatrical debut.
To drive the point even further, the only other movie in the billion-dollar club besides Barbie that didn’t have a sequel, wasn’t a sequel itself, or wasn’t made as a remake of a major Disney animated film is James Cameron’s Titanic. Even The Super Mario Bros. Movie, another recent member of the prestigious box office club, has spurred discussions of a sequel, despite the ongoing actors’ and writers’ strikes.
However, Barbie is not like other movies. Setting aside the incredible writing that perfectly balances humor with a poignant message about identity and the patriarchy and ignoring the charming acting by Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and the rest of the cast, the film was created under a set of unique circumstances.
If the studio wanted Margot Robbie to return for a sequel after the success of the first, Robbie’s negotiation power could cost the studio a pretty penny.
Even with the writers’ and actors’ strikes underway, preventing a creative team from getting together to imagine a sequel story, Barbie headliners Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling never even signed an option for a sequel.
Robbie, who breathed life into the iconic Barbie character and produced the film through her LuckyChap banner alongside her husband Tom Ackerley, has no obligation to reprise her role. Which means that if the studio wanted her to return for a sequel, after the success of the first, Robbie’s negotiation power could cost the studio a pretty penny.
Meanwhile, Gosling, who charmed audiences with his Kenergy, is also not committed to a sequel. And since he is known for his preference for standalone projects rather than franchise roles, there may not even be a possibility for his return to Barbie Land.
The film’s director and co-writer, Greta Gerwig, is another critical puzzle piece missing from the sequel equation. Gerwig, who masterfully orchestrated the film’s complex narrative alongside her partner Noah Baumbach, has said she wants to make more Barbie movies, but her representatives skillfully postponed negotiations until the film’s success became evident. Now that the success is in the bag, Gerwig has as much negotiation power as Robbie.
Normally, studios are eager to capitalize on the momentum of a film’s success and make as many sequels as possible before the audiences burn out.
The intertwined efforts of Robbie, Gerwig, and the creative team have propelled Barbie beyond its initial two-quadrant target, resonating with audiences and potentially opening doors for more female-centric filmmaking. As speculation swirls about a sequel, the strikes’ timing has inadvertently granted breathing room for negotiations, leveraging the film’s soaring box office figures to secure deals that are bound to involve numerous zeroes.
As the dust settles and discussions about a sequel inevitably emerge, the film industry eagerly awaits the next chapter in the Barbie saga, armed with the knowledge that the formidable success of the first installment has laid the foundation for an even grander spectacle.
