Barbie 2 Get Most Encouraging Update Yet From Mattel CEO (But Isn’t Greenlit)

With the first movie breaking multiple box office records and garnering Oscar buzz, the potential Barbie 2 is looking more promising in a recent update from Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz. Margot Robbie leads the star-studded cast of the fantasy comedy adventure as Stereotypical Barbie who begins to have an existential crisis and must travel to the real world with the help of her Ken to discover who is creating this change, while also learning the meaning of life. Co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig, Barbie has garnered widespread acclaim for its meta humor, insightful commentary and performances from its cast.

Just a week after the Robbie-led movie launched to success, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz offered a Barbie 2 update during a company earnings call, per Deadline. Though acknowledging that it’s “probably a bit early to talk about sequels,” Kreiz expressed his and Mattel’s enthusiasm for how the movie has performed so far and teased further expansions of the franchise, as well as other brands getting adaptations in the future. See what Kreiz explained below:

Talks of a potential Barbie 2 began swirling in late June when a report confirmed that Robbie, who also produced the first movie, was having conversations with Mattel about the possibility of a sequel, though said reports indicated she was hesitant to move forward with a follow-up and keep the focus on the first movie for now. A week after the movie’s release, Gerwig similarly expressed uncertainty about coming back for another movie, feeling she had given “all I’ve got” with the hit and admits that, as is the case with her other projects, she feels she’ll “never have another idea.”

While the movie’s critical and commercial success echoes that of fellow Warner Bros. meta-driven project The Lego Movie, the way Barbie ends does leave very little room for a potential sequel, with Robbie’s Barbie embracing becoming human and making a life for herself in the real world. It’s very possible the story could shift to one of the many other Barbies introduced in the movie, or even see Ryan Gosling’s Ken finally discovering a path for himself and reuniting with Robbie in the real world without an unhealthy attachment to her, though a movie without Robbie would be a tough sell..

Talks of a potential Barbie 2 began swirling in late June when a report confirmed that Robbie, who also produced the first movie, was having conversations with Mattel about the possibility of a sequel, though said reports indicated she was hesitant to move forward with a follow-up and keep the focus on the first movie for now. A week after the movie’s release, Gerwig similarly expressed uncertainty about coming back for another movie, feeling she had given “all I’ve got” with the hit and admits that, as is the case with her other projects, she feels she’ll “never have another idea.”

While the movie’s critical and commercial success echoes that of fellow Warner Bros. meta-driven project The Lego Movie, the way Barbie ends does leave very little room for a potential sequel, with Robbie’s Barbie embracing becoming human and making a life for herself in the real world. It’s very possible the story could shift to one of the many other Barbies introduced in the movie, or even see Ryan Gosling’s Ken finally discovering a path for himself and reuniting with Robbie in the real world without an unhealthy attachment to her, though a movie without Robbie would be a tough sell.