The 2023 movies schedule is delivering its final offerings in December, but when looking at the entire year, cinema’s biggest success remains Barbie. In addition to the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling-starring feature earning positive critical reception, Barbie has made over $1.4 billion worldwide, surpassing The Super Mario Bros. Movie to become 2023’s highest-grossing movie. With a performance like that, it’s no wonder there’s been talk about a potential Barbie 2, but Robbie has dashed those hopes, saying that this movie wasn’t mean to build a trilogy.
Robbie, who was also one of Barbie’s executive producers, addressed the possibility for Barbie 2 while speaking with AP, providing the following rationale for why it’s unlikely a sequel to the Greta Gerwig-directed movie will be made:
I think we put everything into this one. We didn’t, like, built it to be a trilogy or something. Greta put everything into this movie, so I can’t imagine what would be next.
To be fair, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Barbie 2 is far from being a sure thing. Back in early August, just a few weeks after Barbie opened in theaters, it was reported that Robbie, Gosling and Gerwig hadn’t signed deals to return for a sequel. Then in September, word came in that Robbie allegedly wasn’t interested in coming back for Barbie 2, and that Warner Bros. Pictures was exploring making a follow-up that focuses on Gosling’s Ken and possibly spotlights a different actress as one of the other Barbies.
While it’s unclear just how realistic a prospect a Barbie spinoff is, Margot Robbie’s making it clear that, at least for right now, we shouldn’t expect Barbie 2 to become a reality. This is in sharp contrast with 2019’s Joker, which, similar to Barbie, had originally been conceived to be a one-and-done story focused on the Arthur Fleck version of Batman’s arch-nemesis. However, after it went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time and collect many accolades, including netting Joaquin Phoenix the Academy Award for Best Actor, Warner Bros. greenlit Joker: Folie à Deux, which comes out next year.
In an age where sequels/follow-ups are more plentiful than ever, I admire Robbie for wanting to keep this Barbie story contained to just one movie. Warner Bros. would surely jump at the chance to revisit this property, but with everything Greta Gerwig poured into this movie both as director and through co-writing the script with her partner Noah Baumbach, trying to force a sequel out wouldn’t be the wisest course of action. Besides, considering that Barbie’s ending showed Robbie’s title character becoming human and starting a new life as Barbara Handler, there’s no reason us to keep following along with her life through a Barbie-centric lens.
Still, if Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig end up changing their minds about Barbie 2, you can be sure we’ll let you know. In the meantime, Barbie is now available to purchase on home media, and it’ll likely become available to stream with a Max subscription sometime in the near future.
