Will There Be A Barbie 2? Latest News On Barbie Movie Sequel

Barbie is on track to be the film of the summer, if not the entire year, and it's only been out for a few weeks. After the pink carpet was rolled out on 21 July, it brought in an eye-watering £276m internationally over its opening weekend, making Barbie the biggest debut ever for a film directed by a woman.

It's unsurprising given that it features pink everything, countless famous faces and witty quips to boot. Truly, this movie is giving us everything we never knew we needed in our life until now, from a Dua Lipa Barbie anthem to Rob Brydon as Sugar Daddy Ken.

Along with the impeccable Barbiecore outfits we've been served on the movie's press tour and the now viral teasers featuring arched feet that seemingly defy the laws of physics, it feels as though we've been in the grips of Barbie mania for quite some time now, and we're totally fine with that.

But, as with all good things, we're already finding ourselves wondering whether we'll be getting a second hit of pink dopamine in the form of Barbie 2.

While there have been rumblings on the internet, certain things have been said by Mattel's CEO, the film's director Greta Gerwig and Barbie herself (Margot Robbie).

In a turn of events none of us saw coming, even Oppenheimer's Cillian Murphy has weighed in on the matter, so we're here to set the record straight on how likely a Barbie sequel is.

Can we really expect another Barbie World extravaganza in the future? Jump in Barbie, here's everything we know so far, including the latest news and developments.

Will there be a Barbie 2?

When you think about it, Barbie opens up endless opportunities for spinoffs, and given its record-breaking box office success, more films would make a lot of sense.

While nothing has been confirmed yet, there have reportedly been conversations around a potential Barbie sequel. Here's what Mattel's CEO, the film's director Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie have each said in relation to a Barbie 2.

In an effort to ride the nostalgia wave hard, Mattel has said that they're planning over 45 movies based on childhood toys from Polly Pocket to Hot Wheels to…Uno? Admittedly some sound more exciting to us than others, though we're game to see Lily Collins appear as Polly Pocket.

Speaking to Variety about their strategy in the days before Barbie's release, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said “Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe. It’s a very rich universe… It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.”

As in the film, Barbie can do anything and everything, being a doctor, a Nobel prize winner, a president, a beauty queen, and everything in between, so there's a lot of opportunity within that.

He added, “At the outset, we’re not saying, ‘Okay, let’s think already about movie two and three.’ Let’s get the first one right and make that a success. And if you do that, opportunities open up very quickly, once you establish the first movie as a successful representation of a franchise on the big screen.”

“Successful movies lend themselves to more movies,” the Mattel CEO added. “Our ambition is to create film franchises.”

So it's very clear that Mattel are on board for more movies, but where does Barbie director Greta Gerwig stand on all this?

When asked if Barbie is “the start of a franchise” or “a complete story with a definitive ending, the director gave The New York Times no definitive answer but made clear that she's not thinking about a part two right now.

“At this moment, it’s all I’ve got,” Gerwig said.

“I feel like that at the end of every movie, like I’ll never have another idea and everything I’ve ever wanted to do, I did. I wouldn’t want to squash anybody else’s dream but for me, at this moment, I’m at totally zero.”

We remain hopeful, however, given that back in November 2022, Gerwig also told Variety that it would be “exciting” to see more Barbie movies in the future.

When asked if the film was the beginning of a planned multi film franchise she responded “I can’t answer all these questions!” with a laugh, before adding “I mean, it would certainly be exciting if it was.”

Iiiinteresting.

In an interview with Time Margot Robbie said “It could go a million different directions from this point but I think you fall into a bit of a trap if you try and set up a first movie whilst also planning for sequels.”

Sounds tentatively positive…

Given the hype that this film has seen, we have faith.

Who would be cast in a Barbie sequel?

Given that Barbie 2 is yet to be confirmed and with the countless directions the storyline could go in, it's not clear who would appear in a Barbie sequel.

It’s likely that Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling would reprise their roles as Barbie and Ken, though given that Robbie's Barbie becomes a real-life woman, it remains to be seen exactly what this would look like.

In a turn of events that none of us saw coming, amidst the Barbenheimer phenomenon, Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy told Cinéfilos that he would be open to playing Ken in a Barbie sequel.

"Would I play a Ken in Barbie 2? Sure," Murphy said. "Let's read the script and let's have a conversation."

His Oppenheimer costar Emily Blunt also said she'd love to do it if if it became a thing.

"Yes, please! I'd do anything with Greta Gerwig!" she said during a recent interview, with Matt Damon also adding “I'd do anything with Greta Gerwig, she's a great director!”

While Murphy was never set to appear in Barbie, several other actors including Dan Levy, Bowen Yang and Ben Platt were due to. One of Barbie's casting directors, Allison Jones, told Vanity Fair “They were, I'm not kidding, really bummed they couldn't do it”

Surely a Barbie sequel could make room to honour all these worthy Kens with some much needed himbo energy? We live in hope.

What would Barbie 2 be about?

As above, Margot Robbie has explained that the story could go in “a million” different directions.

As the conclusion of Barbie sees Robbie's character become a real-life woman, there are plenty of loose ends that could be tied up there. Likewise, there's a lot of room for personal development of Ryan Gosling's Ken who proved to be a fan favourite in the film.

That's without us even touching on all the other supporting characters who could be delved into more, from Issa Rae's President Barbie to Michael Cera's Allan.

Given that Barbie leaves the door open for a potentially infinite amount of Barbies and Kens, a sequel could follow any of them, or instead focus on Barbie learning how to exist in the real world. At this stage everything's pure speculation, but we can hope.

Though nothing is confirmed, when asked what a sequel would look like in an interview with ET, Ryan Gosling responded “I don't know, you'd have to ask Greta that. I would work with Greta and Margot on anything”.

Music to our ears.

In the meantime, enjoy revelling in the glorious trailer for the first film below.

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