The sequel to the 2023 smash “Barbie” has stalled at Warner Brothers. Pictures, according to a report in the New York Times.
The studio has until December to lock a deal with “Barbie” headliners Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, along with filmmaker Greta Gerwig, before the rights revert to Mattel.
Gosling’s asking price is $20 million, according to the report. Last week, it was revealed at San Diego Comic-Con that Gosling will star in his first superhero movie, “Ghost Rider,” for Marvel Studios and director Shawn Levy.
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs, Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, said in a statement: “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.”
Additionally, according to the report, WBD CEO David Zaslav rejected the studio’s latest offers to talent as “too generous,” though a Warner Bros. spokeswoman disputed the account and said talent reps have not countered since declining an offer made in May.
Also contained in the report, Gerwig and her husband and writing partner Noah Baumbach already have a story in mind for the sequel but are withholding it, and won’t commence writing until a deal closes. The alleged situation gives the pair added leverage in contract talks.
Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz had previously said that the company wanted to avoid this sort of delay.
“We expect projects to move and be in active development,” Keiz said. “We don’t want to sit on the back burner.”
Mattel’s latest movie, “Masters of the Universe,” grossed only $113.5 million globally. It recently premiered on Prime Video where it is currently #1 on the platform.
A spokesperson for Warner Brothers. Pictures did not respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
