Barbie Does Not Need a Sequel

If you've been paying attention to entertainment at all this summer then you know one thing as indisputable truth: Barbie is the biggest movie of the summer and has fully captured pop culture zeitgeist. The Greta Gerwig directed film just crossed the $1 billion mark at the global box office making it the first film directed solely by a woman to do so and outside of theaters, the film has inspired various social media trends, sold loads of pink-drenched merch, and opened up plenty of conversation about the movie's meaning all while helping make 2023 the unofficial year of the girl. Given Hollywood's propensity to latch onto a good thing when they see it and try to get as much life out of it as possible, it's no surprise that there's been lots of chatter about a potential sequel to the film, but while more Barbie movies at this point feels nearly inevitable the truth is Barbie doesn't really need one — and it would be the wrong move to try to make one.

While there is a wide array of reasons why Barbie really doesn't need a sequel, they can be mostly narrowed down to a core three: those who made the film don't really seem to be interested in a sequel, Barbie is already a complete story for both Barbie and Ken, and Hollywood could stand to listen to audiences and recognize that not every successful thing needs to become a franchise. Let's take a closer look at these core reasons.

Greta Gerwig Has No Plans for a Barbie Sequel

Soon after Barbie's release, Gerwig was asked by The New York Times if there were plans for a sequel and the filmmaker had an answer that was, to an extent, a bit of a surprise. She told the outlet that she didn't have an idea in mind. Barbie as it exists was all she had.

"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."

While a Barbie sequel wouldn't necessarily require Gerwig to be part of it to go forward, more recently it was reported that there is another barrier to a true Barbie sequel: not only does Gerwig have no ideas, but there are no options or deals in place for her return, nor is there a deal in place for the returns of star Ryan Gosling and star/producer Margot Robbie. Mattel has made it pretty clear that they want to develop a cinematic world of sorts with Barbie, but those are some interesting hurdles that they'd have to clear before things could, in theory, even start to progress.

Barbie Is a Complete Story

Even if all of the pieces were in place for a Barbie sequel, that still wouldn't make it necessary. Barbie is already a complete story and not just in terms of Stereotypical Barbie's (Robbie) story. While the film very much is centered on Barbie's existential crisis of sorts which leads her on a journey of self-discovery that ends with her becoming something more than a doll/idea, Ken (Gosling) also has a very important story and journey in the film one in which his own complex feelings are explored through his (ultimately failed) attempt to turn Barbieland into a patriarchal society. Ken also finds that he has to figure out who he is. Barbie is set off on her next journey in the Real World; Ken is on his, understanding that he is "Kenough", in Barbieland.

Both Barbie and Ken essentially find themselves in the same place at the end of Barbie. One journey has ended, another begins and they are both left on largely hopeful notes with just enough information presented from the context of the film that audiences can infer for themselves what's next. We know that Barbie is going on to navigate her new life as a human. We also know that the Kens are going to be working towards a more equitable experience in Barbieland. Any story being told from here is just minutiae — and takes away from the audiences' ability to apply the lessons of the film to their own experiences. The story doesn't need more.

Fans Don't Necessarily Want More Franchises

Even if all of the pertinent players were in a position for more Barbie and even if more stories could be found to tell, that doesn't necessarily mean that audiences want more — at least not to the levels of success Barbie has already found. Something that has been a topic of conversation and online discussion for quite some time is that Hollywood isn't giving audiences enough in the way of original ideas. Everything, it seems, is a reboot or a sequel or a franchise, or part of some big IP and even the few things that are fresh and new are strip-mined for the machine of More Content. To an extent, some of this discontent with what studios are giving audiences can be found in the discussion of superhero fatigue. A part of that concept is that people are just tired. What was once a good and fun and thrilling thing that people were endlessly excited for and wanted to talk about, write about, and be a part of now feels like a chore for a lot of fans.

You really only get to that point when you stretch a good thing too far and while more Barbie might be fun in the short run, everything has a point at which returns diminish. And sometimes the best way to avoid that is to never go down that path. Even beyond the fatigue idea of it, people have been clamoring for fresh stories. While Barbie is arguably not exactly a wholly original thing — it is, after all, built on the existing major IP of a decades old globally popular and iconic children's toy — its story is fresh and unique and unlike anything we've gotten in theaters in a while. Audiences turned out for that in ways they simply haven't for sequels and franchise as of late. That Barbie is different and not part of a larger whole is part of the allure. Any future installment simply won't have that shine.

Realistically, a Barbie sequel will probably happen. Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz recently suggested as much, commenting that "successful movies lend themselves to more movies" before making it clear that not only do they intent to create film franchise, but Barbie has "many different iterations". But just because they can doesn't mean they should and maybe, just this one time, we should let Barbieland stay in its box and the real world move forward to a new adventure with new tales to tell.

Barbie is in theaters now.