A year and a half since Barbie set the box office on fire, it finally looks like a sequel is coming to fruition.
Barbie opened with a whopping $162 million in mid-July 2023, on its way to $636.2 million at the domestic box office and $1.4 billion worldwide.
Given its enormous success, a sequel seemed inevitable, although writer-director Greta Gerwig and her husband and co-writer Noah Baumbach had been hesitant to pursue it.
Gerwig said during Time’s Women of the Year honors in March 2024: ‘My north star is, what do I love deeply? What do I really care about? What is the story behind this story? If I find the hangover, then we’ll catch it. If I don’t find a hangover, there’s no more.’
It seems Gerwig, 41, and Baumbach, 55, who tied the knot in 2023 after 12 years together, have found that “hangover,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The idea for the sequel was presented to Warner Bros. and, although it is in the “early stages,” talks on the deal have begun again.
A year and a half since Barbie set the box office on fire, it finally looks like a sequel is coming to fruition.
Given its enormous success, a sequel seemed inevitable, although writer-director Greta Gerwig and her husband and co-writer Noah Baumbach had been hesitant to pursue it.
However, both Warner Bros. and representatives for Gerwig and Baumbach rejected the report.
‘There is no legitimacy in these reports,” says the representative of Gerwig and Baumbach, while a representative of the WB said: “The THR reports are inaccurate.”
Even if a sequel is in the works, it may be quite a while before the writers decide to tackle the script.
Baumbach is currently in post-production on an untitled film for Netflix, starring Gerwig, Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Laura Dern.
Gerwig herself is also in production on a new Netflix adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia books.
There is no release date for either Baumbach’s untitled film or Gerwig’s Narnia film at this time.
It seems likely that Baumbach could begin writing the Barbie sequel after finishing his film, although no timeline has been revealed at this time.
A source maintained that Baumbach would begin the writing process and the pair would pass the script back and forth making several passes.
However, both Warner Bros. and representatives for Gerwig and Baumbach rejected the report.
“There is no legitimacy in these reports,” says Gerwig and Baumbach’s representative, while a WB representative said: “THR’s reports are inaccurate.”
Baumbach is currently in post-production on an untitled film for Netflix, starring Gerwig, Adam Sandler, George Clooney and Laura Dern.
Gerwig herself is also in production on a new Netflix adaptation of the Chronicles of Narnia books.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling would almost certainly return as Barbie and Ken, although it’s unclear who else from the supporting cast would return.
Gerwig joked during a WGA West event in October 2023: “I find that whenever I share ideas too early, they turn bad and then the movie won’t be any good.”
“I don’t like to talk about things too early or present things or show treatments too early because I feel like it’s going to ruin the movie in some way,” he said.
Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling would almost certainly return as Barbie and Ken, although it’s unclear who else in the supporting cast would return.
The cast of the original film also includes America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Issa Rae, Alexandra Shipp, Dua Lipa, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Michael Cera and more.