Is a ‘Barbie’ Sequel Coming Anytime Soon?

Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is a cultural phenomenon currently on its way to crossing the billion-dollar threshold at the global box office. Given its massive critical and commercial success and the sequel-driven nature of the film industry, fans are already asking when Barbie 2 is coming out. After all, given the film’s success, there’s no reason why Warner Bros. and Mattel wouldn’t want to cash in on a potential Barbie franchise. Since Mattel has announced an upcoming slate of a whopping 45-movie cinematic toy universe (including a Lena Dunham-headed Polly Pocket movie), it seems likely that a Barbie 2 has to be one of them. Will the new MCU (Mattel Cinematic Universe) feature crossovers like Marvel but with dolls instead of superheroes? While there’s little information out there, we at The Mary Sue are on the case. Here’s what we’ve found out so far.

Is there going to be a Barbie 2?

While it seems deeply improbable that Mattel and Warner Bros. won’t make a Barbie 2 at some point, there’s been no announcement yet either way. Obviously, we’ll keep you informed when we do find out.

Will Greta Gerwig be involved?

Probably not. While she hasn’t ruled it out entirely, Greta Gerwig has said that she doesn’t see the material for a sequel in what she’s already created. Then again, she apparently feels that way at the end of every project. In a statement that’s highly familiar to anyone who does any sort of creative work, Gerwig explained to Variety that by the time each project is done, she feels like she’ll never be able to create anything new ever again because everything she wanted to do and say is already out there.

“At this moment, it’s all I’ve got. 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. I wouldn’t want to squash anybody else’s dream but for me, at this moment, I’m at totally zero.”

So maybe Gerwig really is done with Barbie, having managed to say everything in the first film. Or maybe in a few years, when her creative juices have had time to settle, she’ll rethink it and decide there is more story to tell.

What about Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling?

While they haven’t said anything about a sequel, both actors clearly enjoyed working on the first film. Robbie is no stranger to sequels, having reprised her role as Harley Quinn in The Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey. But it’s unclear if Gosling would return, or if either of them would be interested in a Barbie movie without Gerwig at the helm.

Any other clues?

Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said in an interview with Variety, “Successful movies lend themselves to more movies. Our ambition is to create film franchises” adding that the Barbie movie contained “a very rich universe … It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.” This does seem to imply that they’re at least thinking about it pretty seriously. If they do make any sequel or spin-off movies, they might be centered around secondary characters instead of a direct sequel focused on the continuing adventures of Stereotypical Barbie. Personally, I’m hoping for a pregnant Midge movie if they do decide to play around with the world some more, but we’ll see.

(via Variety, featured image: Warner Bros.)