Barbie 2 Has a Billion-Dollar Problem: The Dreamhouse Deal is Falling Apart

In Barbie, Margot Robbie famously interrupts a perfect day in Barbieland by asking: “Do you guys ever think about dying?”

Three years later, Warner Bros. executives might be asking exactly the same thing about the sequel.

Despite Greta Gerwig’s Barbie becoming a genuine cultural phenomenon and grossing more than $1.4 billion worldwide, negotiations to reunite Gerwig, Robbie, Ryan Gosling and co-writer Noah Baumbach have reportedly descended into a very expensive game of chicken.

According to Variety, Warner Bros. has made more than six attempts to secure the four key creatives, without reaching an agreement. The latest package, offered earlier this year, has apparently been described by one studio source as potentially the biggest deal Warner Bros. has ever offered a filmmaking team and its stars.

And still nobody has signed.

The problem, unsurprisingly, is money.

Gerwig didn't simply direct a successful studio movie. She delivered the biggest film of 2023 and, at the time, became the director behind the highest-grossing movie ever made by a woman. Robbie wasn't simply its star either. Her LuckyChap company helped produce it. Gosling's gloriously insecure Ken became almost as important to the phenomenon as Barbie herself, while Baumbach co-wrote the screenplay with Gerwig.

When you've just created a $1.4 billion movie, negotiating your sequel salary is probably the moment to remember your own value.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav reportedly sees things differently. Variety says he has resisted the creative team's demands despite the studio's increasingly lucrative offers, creating an extraordinary situation where the sequel to one of Warner Bros.' biggest films could simply disappear.

The New York Times was among the first to report that negotiations had reached serious trouble, while subsequent industry reports have suggested Warner Bros. may also be working against the clock regarding its deal with Mattel.

It is difficult not to appreciate the irony.

Hollywood has spent years desperately searching for recognisable intellectual property capable of generating billion-dollar franchises. Warner Bros. already has one, complete with the director, writers and stars responsible for making audiences actually care about it.

And everyone is arguing about the bill.

Mattel has plenty at stake too. The original movie transformed Barbie from famous toy into genuine pop-cultural event, boosting interest in the brand far beyond cinema. Mattel would understandably love another trip to Barbieland, particularly as it continues expanding its ambitions in film and television.

There could still be another twist.

Variety reports that David Ellison could potentially revive negotiations if control of Warner Bros. changes hands, with one industry source predicting a new Barbie agreement might be among his first major deals.

For now, though, Barbie isn't getting into her pink Corvette.

Ken isn't heading back to the beach.

And perhaps the strangest sequel story in Hollywood is that everyone involved appears to want Barbie 2,  they just can't agree how much it should cost to get the Dreamhouse doors open again.