Barbie may be the highest-grossing movie in the history of Warner Bros., but that doesn't necessarily mean that the studio is willing to fork out what David Zaslav clearly deems to be unreasonable amounts of cash for a potential sequel.
According to Variety, a sequel to Greta Gerwig's massively successful 2023 film is now in jeopardy, as Zaslav is reluctant to meet the "new financial asks" of Gerwig, Margot Robbie (Barbie), and Ryan Gosling (Ken).
"The scuttling of a sequel deal comes as WB film chiefs De Luca and Abdy have roughly four months to put another Barbie movie into active development — or the rights to the iconic doll revert to toymaker Mattel. If new contracts don’t materialize, Mattel will not be permitted to use a shred of Gerwig’s Barbie as a jumping-off point and will face a full reboot. Gerwig and Baumbach have an idea for a sequel, Variety has confirmed with two sources, but they won’t let one miniature plastic shoe drop on the table before they have signed agreements."
Apparently, "numerous high-profile insiders were appalled by the optics of Zaslav, on the precipice of making hundreds of millions of dollars if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. goes through, thwarting a potential billion-dollar sequel over compensation."
Another insider notes that Abdy and De Luca take talent relations more seriously, which was reflected in their most recent contract offers.
“Classic Zas,” one rival exec said of the WBD CEO.
"Another source advised this debacle be “add[ed] to the list” of errors the TV-bred executive has made in his tenure, specifically in the movie business. Think shelving Batgirl and Coyote vs. Acme and taking a tax write-off to trim corporate debt, or greenlighting the $45 million megabomb The Alto Knights with Robert De Niro.
From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig (Little Women, Lady Bird) comes Barbie, which also stars America Ferrera (End of Watch, the How to Train Your Dragon films), Kate McKinnon (Bombshell, Yesterday), Issa Rae (The Photograph, Insecure), Rhea Perlman (I’ll See You in My Dreams, Matilda), and Will Ferrell (the Anchorman films, Talladega Nights), and more.
Gerwig directs from a screenplay she penned alongside Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, The Squid and the Whale), based on the iconic fashion dolls by Mattel.
The film’s producers are Oscar nominee David Heyman (Marriage Story, Gravity), Robbie, Tom Ackerley and Robbie Brenner, with Gerwig, Baumbach, Ynon Kreiz, Richard Dickson, Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich and Cate Adams serving as executive producers.