The highest-grossing film in Warner Bros. history still does not have a sequel with a green light. At the first press conference for the newly combined Skydance, co-CEO Ynon Kriez was asked when Barbie 2 would become a go project. His answer: “Too early to talk about that.”
Kriez, the former Mattel CEO who was named Skydance co-CEO last week, was involved in the 2023 film based on Mattel’s doll. Barbie took in $1.44 billion worldwide, the biggest result ever for Warner Bros. That makes the sequel one of the most consequential open decisions on the new studio’s slate.
Why the clock matters
The sequel was contentious before the Paramount–Warner Bros. combination closed. Under former Warner Bros. Discovery leadership, the studio reportedly resisted paying higher fees for the CAA-represented core team: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach. Baumbach signed a first-look deal at the studio’s Clockwork label, but that deal was said not to include Barbie 2.
There is also a rights deadline. If the film rights revert to Mattel at the end of the year, the toymaker could start over with a new project and new talent. That gives Skydance a narrow window to either close a deal with the existing creative team or choose a different path.
The slate math
Skydance Motion Picture Group chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are now working through the development status of 36 Warner Bros-dated theatrical releases. Among them are an untitled Baz Luhrmann film in pre-production and a new draft for a Weapons prequel, Gladys, that still needs a director if it is to make a September 2028 release date.
- $1.44B — Barbie’s global box office, Warner Bros’ highest-grossing film.
- No green light — Skydance says it is too early to call Barbie 2.
- Year-end rights cliff — film rights revert to Mattel if no deal is struck.
- 36 films — the WB theatrical slate the new film chairs must assess.
The business read
For entertainment marketers and buyers, this is a high-stakes test of franchise economics. A sequel to a $1.44 billion film carries built-in awareness but also built-in talent cost. The new leadership now has to weigh paying the original team’s price against the option of resetting the property if rights lapse. The signal from Skydance is continuity: the merged company wants to preserve each studio’s legacy rather than erase it, but no one is calling the sequel yet.
The next checkpoint is quiet but significant: whether the new film chairs can settle the rights and talent questions before the calendar runs out. A green light for Barbie 2 would immediately change the theatrical marketing calendar for the combined studio; a rights reversion would shift the project back to Mattel’s control.
Source: Deadline
