Barbie 2 is a priority (and an emergency) for the new Skydance entity

The sequel to Greta Gerwig’s hit seemed to be at a standstill for budgetary reasons. But the future direction of Warner Bros. under the Paramount flag would now like to accelerate negotiations with Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. And time is running out…

Barbie still has life in her.

As Skydance prepares to finalize its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the new management would like to very quickly relaunch the sequel project to Greta Gerwig’s hit.

According to Variety, discussions have already started and, according to a source cited by the magazine, “There’s no way Barbie 2 won’t get made.”

Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, the bosses of Paramount who should take charge of the film labels of the two studios, have already contacted Margot Robbie and her partners at the production company LuckyChap. And this even though David Ellison has not yet officially taken charge.

Another encouraging sign: Ellison has just appointed Ynon Kreiz, former boss of Mattel, as co-CEO of the new entity. It was in particular he who accompanied the transformation of barbie into a global box office phenomenon. It is therefore difficult to imagine that the new management is letting such a lucrative franchise sleep.

Because the first film did not plan a sequel.

Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling had not signed a contract committing them to several films. Suddenly, after the monumental success of barbieboth requested a significant revaluation to return. Greta Gerwig already has an idea for this sequel, but would refuse to reveal it until an agreement has been reached.

Former Warner Bros. bosses Pictures, Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca, had publicly admitted to having made several important offers without reaching an agreement. Both leaders have since left office.

With David Zaslav, the negotiations seemed particularly complicated. David Ellison would be ready to meet the demands of the team barbie. Which could cost the studio dearly: more than 20 million dollars for Greta Gerwig, who would write and direct the film, 10 million for Noah Baumbach, who would participate in the screenplay, more than 20 million for Ryan Gosling, returning in a supporting role, and potentially 40 million or more for Margot Robbie. That’s already more than 100 million dollars just in salaries and fees for the main talents.

And above all, time is running out. If Warner Bros. fails to close deals with Gerwig, Robbie and Gosling by December, the rights to barbie will return to Mattel who could resell them to another studio. The deadline is therefore not very far away.

With David Ellison at the helm and his known appetite for franchises and big intellectual properties, it wouldn’t be very surprising to see the signings come in quickly. For the new Skydance entity, Barbie 2 is no longer just a possibility: it is clearly an urgent matter.