Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling's ‘Barbie’ sequel hits roadblock

The highly anticipated sequel to Barbie has reportedly hit a roadblock, with negotiations between Warner Bros. and key members of the creative team failing to produce an agreement, leaving the project’s future uncertain.

According to The New York Times, talks involving lead stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, as well as director and co-writer Greta Gerwig, have stalled over financial terms.

The report cited unnamed sources claiming Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav considered the studio’s proposed deals too generous, while another source alleged Gosling is seeking a salary of about $20 million to reprise his role as Ken.

Warner Bros. disputed parts of the report, telling The New York Times that offers were made to the lead actors in May but were declined, adding that no counteroffers have been submitted.

In a statement to the newspaper, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca said the studio remains committed to producing a sequel.

“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 film. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement thus far,” the executives said.

The report added that if agreements with Robbie, Gosling and Gerwig are not finalized by December 2026, the film rights are expected to revert to toy maker Mattel.

Released in July 2023, Barbie became one of the biggest box-office successes of the year, earning more than $1.4 billion worldwide after opening to a record-breaking $162 million domestically.