Mattel Eyes Barbie Sequel As WB Faces December Deadline — SkimNews
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- Robbie Brenner, Mattel Studios president and chief content officer, told a TIFF audience that 'we all want to see the Barbie sequel' but declined to commit to any timing for a live-action follow-up.
- Mattel is currently focused on an animated Barbie movie being made with Chris Meledandri, with Brenner adding 'yes, we will continue to do other Barbie things as well.'
- Warner Bros. has until December to close a deal with Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and Greta Gerwig, the co-writer and director of the first film, or the rights revert to Mattel, per a July New York Times report cited in the piece.
- If the rights revert, Mattel will be barred from using any previous iteration of Barbie and will be required to launch a full reboot, per the source.
- Greta Gerwig won the project after roughly 40 to 50 other pitches by telling Brenner the story would 'live in between a high heel and a Birkenstock' — the comment Brenner called the 'aha moment.'
- The original Barbie film, produced with LuckyChap and David Heyman, grossed $1.4 billion worldwide and earned Brenner an Oscar nomination for producing.
Why it matters: The December reversion deadline gives Mattel unusual leverage in talks: if Warner Bros. can't lock the Gerwig-Robbie-Gosling creative team, Mattel keeps the franchise but cannot use any prior version, forcing a reboot. With an animated Barbie already in production under Chris Meledandri, Mattel has a viable path regardless of how live-action negotiations resolve before year-end — narrowing what Warner Bros. can realistically pay for the original creative team's involvement.
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