‘Barbie’ sequel stalled as Warner Bros. balks at Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling wage calls for

Three years after “Barbie” took the field workplace by storm in the summertime of 2023, followers are nonetheless nowhere nearer to a sequel occurring, and new particulars have emerged in regards to the hold-up.

Margot Robbie starred because the title character with Ryan Gosling portraying Ken within the blockbuster, which took in $636.2 million home and $810.9 million from overseas markets for a mixed $1.447 billion worldwide.

Whereas that’s definitely a sufficiently big haul to have most film studios shortly giving a inexperienced gentle for a sequel, Warner Bros. has been stalling, with a report from The New York Occasions revealing why.

Embattled Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav — who is about to earn a whopping $886 million “golden parachute” when (or if) the Paramount/Warner Bros. merger is accredited — is balking at Robbie and Gosling’s hefty wage calls for.

Gosling is reportedly asking $20 million to return as Ken, although Zaslav thought it was an excessive amount of and refused to log out on the deal, which additionally included language about revenue participation.

The studio additionally wants to return to agreements with Robbie, director Greta Gerwig and her writing associate (and real-life husband) Noah Baumbach.

The report provides that negotiations have been ongoing for months, although studio reps have stated that the principal expertise declined the studio’s final provide in Might and have but to counter.

Warner Bros. co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca stated in an announcement: “We’ve a rights take care of Mattel in place and have made a collection of massive gives to attempt to finalize offers to make the subsequent ‘Barbie’ movie. Sadly, now we have been unable to achieve an settlement so far.”

The negotiations not solely come as Paramount agreed to pause their merger with Warner Bros. following a lawsuit filed by California Lawyer Common Rob Bonta, but in addition as one other deadline looms massive.

If the studio doesn’t finalize a deal for the sequel by December, then the movie rights would revert again to Barbie toy producer Mattel.

If that occurs, which means they must redevelop the mental property, they usually must begin from scratch with a brand new forged and inventive group, with out utilizing any parts from the blockbuster.

Gerwig — who’s presently in post-production on Netflix’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” — and Baumbach are stated to be utilizing this deadline as leverage.

The writers have an concept for the sequel, although they’re refusing to inform the studio something about their new story, or begin the writing course of, till their offers are signed.

Each Gerwig and Baumbach are stated to have insisted on having no language concerning a sequel of their authentic “Barbie” contracts, which has in the end result in these negotiations dragging out.

There’s nonetheless time for a deal to be made, to make sure that this forged and crew can come collectively for a sequel, however there isn’t a doubt that the clock is ticking and time is operating shorter by the day.

---

Obtain The California Put up App, observe us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters