Will There Be 'Barbie 2'? Everything to Know Amid the Sequel's Status and Roadblocks

A return to Barbie Land may still be a long way off.

Greta Gerwig's Barbie hit theaters in July 2023 and went on to become Warner Bros.' highest-grossing film ever, earning approximately $1.4 billion worldwide. Yet three years later, despite the record-breaking success, its cinematic future remains stuck in limbo.

Warner Bros. and Mattel have not officially announced a sequel to Barbie as of press time.

In December 2024, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Barbie 2 was in early stages, with Gerwig and Noah Baumbach already developing an idea for a follow-up.

However, a representative for Gerwig and Baumbach said there was "no legitimacy" to the report, while a spokesperson for Warner Bros. described THR's reporting as "inaccurate."

A report from The New York Times revealed the contract negotiations with Gerwig and Barbie lead stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling led the sequel to be stalled.

Gosling is reportedly seeking a pay increase to $20 million to reprise his role, per the report. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is reportedly pushing back against Robbie and Gosling's proposed sequel deals.

Amid stalled talks and looming rights complications, Warner Bros. is said to be scrambling to reach agreements before the rights return to Mattel in December.

"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," Warner Bros. chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca confirmed the sequel's status in a statement.

In an interview with TIME after she was honored as one of the magazine's Women of the Year, Gerwig spoke candidly about the potential Barbie 2 and expressed her excitement about reuniting with the cast and crew.

"My North Star is 'What do I deeply love? What do I really care about? Like, 'What's the story underneath this story?'" she said. "And I think with Barbie, the story underneath this story was I loved Barbie. I remember going to Toys R Us and looking at Barbies and I loved their hair. And I loved everything about them and my mom was not sure about it. And I find that's the story, that's the generational story… I'm always trying to find those undertows. If I find the undertow, then we get it. If I don't find an undertow, there's no more."

With no confirmed agreements or production timeline, Barbie 2 appears far from reaching the big screen.