Barbie Gets Hit With Controversial Oscars Change Ahead of Academy Awards

Barbie easily became one of the biggest films of 2023, sparking a cultural phenomenon and earning a lot of awards buzz when it was released this past July. It has been safe to assume that Barbie will be a frontrunner in this year's upcoming Oscar nominations — but before that happens, one aspect of the Barbie movie just got reclassified in a major way. On Wednesday, reports revealed that Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's screenplay for Barbie is now competing under the Best Adapted Screenplay category, after previously being classified by the Writer's Guild of America as a Best Original Screenplay contender.

At the heart of this debate is Barbie using the credit "based on 'Barbie' by Mattel" in its end credits. Initially, some argued that since the source material is the doll itself and not any "previously published material", it would qualify as a Best Original Screenplay submission. 

Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?

Given Barbie's smash success, fans have wondered if a sequel to the film will be in the cards. Previous reports had indicated that, amid last year's Hollywood strikes, there were no deals or options in place for Gerwig to return, as well as stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Gerwig indicated at the time of Barbie's release that she did not have an idea already in mind for the follow-up film.

"It's funny, that knee-jerk reaction in this day and age for everyone to immediately ask about a sequel. I don't think it was like that 20 years ago. This wasn't designed to be a trilogy," Robbie explained in a recent interview.

"Everything went into Barbie – and that's how Greta works," she continued. "She finishes every movie on empty, feeling like she could never make another movie because she put everything she had into that one. So I don't know what it would take to fill that cup up again for her. Or for us. I think Warners would also agree. I don't know what more could even look like. We want to make more films that have the effect that Barbie has. I don't know if it has to be Barbie 2. Why can't it be another big, original, bold idea where we get an amazing filmmaker, a big budget to play with, and the trust of a huge conglomerate behind them to go and really play? I want to do that."

Will There Be a Ken Spinoff?

Another offshoot of Barbie that fans have been curious about is a potential Ken spinoff film — something that was actually joked about within the film itself. Both Baumbach and Gerwig have played coy about that coming to fruition in any way.

"We can't comment on that," Baumbach revealed in an interview late last year, before Gerwig added, "I can't comment on that. I mean the truth is … I guess we'll see."

What do you think of Barbie having to change Oscar categories? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

h/t: Variety