Earlier this month it was reported that a sequel to Barbie was in the works with Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach set to return. The report claimed that the duo had come up with an idea for a second Barbie film and the project was in the “early stages” of development with Warner Bros. That report was soon debunked by Gerwig and Baumbach’s rep, but it hasn’t stopped the conversation about a Barbie sequel. And while there are plenty of fans who remain eager for more of Barbie and Ken’s adventures, the truth is that Barbie doesn’t actually need a sequel — even though it will probably (eventually) end up with one.
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When Barbie was first announced — at least in its final form circa 2020 after having been in development as a live-action film since 2009 with multiple writer, director, and casting changes as well as a move to Warner Bros. from Universal — people didn’t really know what to expect from the movie about a doll. However, once the film arrived in the summer of 2023, Barbie became a pop culture juggernaut. It was the highest-grossing film of the year, Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing film ever, and was one half of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon in which moviegoers saw Barbie and Universal’s Oppenheimer in what might be the weirdest and most iconic double feature ever. Barbie even helped make 2023 the unofficial year of the girl and it didn’t take long for talk of more to start. Fans wanted more of the movie they’d fallen in love with and realistically, given the film’s success there’s little doubt that Hollywood itself would be clamoring for more, too.
But wanting more doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Barbie was never really set up to be the start of something bigger. From the outset, Barbie has been a complete story. It was reported shortly after the film’s release that Gerwig, Baumbach, and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling had all been contracted for just one film for Barbie, not sequels or even a potential franchise. Around that same time, Gerwig herself said that she had no plans for a sequel and if you actually really watch the movie, that is pretty clear. In Barbie, Stereotypical Barbie (Robbie) finds herself on a journey of self-discovery after an existential crisis and ends with her becoming something more than merely a doll — or more specifically, an idea. Ken (Gosling) also ends up a similar journey even though he initially tags along on Barbie’s adventure more or less against her wishes. Both characters get to grow and develop and reach a place where their stories are finished. That isn’t to say that there aren’t more adventures that they could have — Ken’s life in Barbieland after Barbie goes off to the Real World as a real woman alone could have plenty of potential — just that those adventures don’t need to be delivered in movie form.
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And maybe that’s the main thing about Barbie not really needing a sequel. Moviegoers have become so accustomed to getting a “what’s next” from studios, but not all of the sequels and franchises that Hollywood pumps out hit their intended mark or deliver something worthwhile. It is incredibly rare for a sequel to live up to the original. Oftentimes, sequels don’t tell the story fans were hoping for, or they tell a story that isn’t quite as interesting, or the sequel is too reliant on the success of the first to match the original’s quality. Because Barbie was so good and so unique, anything they do next won’t have the same shine. Despite being based on a toy that has had countless iterations over the decades, Barbie the movie was something fresh and new. Isn’t that exactly what movie fans have been asking for?
But there’s also something to be said for the idea that just because something can be done — in this case a successful movie getting more movies spun out from it — doesn’t mean that it should be done. Over time, even popular things wear thin. A primary example of that is the discussion of so-called superhero fatigue or more accurately the conversations about the diminishing returns in terms of audience satisfaction when it comes to Marvel projects. You could even take that out further and throw in the same conversations about Star Wars – just the broad idea of IP-based franchises being less impactful the longer they go. Sometimes, more is just more and it isn’t necessary, turning what was once beloved and exciting into something that is much less enjoyable overall Additionally, one can’t ignore that the people involved with Barbie have themselves been reluctant to endorse the idea of a sequel. Robbie has previously said that Barbie wasn’t built “to be a trilogy or something” and that they “put everything into this one”. Gerwig, while she initially said she had no plans for a sequel, has indicated that she doesn’t entirely rule out the idea — but also said that she has to “find the undertow” and without that, there’s no film. It’s not exactly a denial, but it’s not an endorsement, either.
The truth is Barbie probably will get a sequel. Maybe it will be a few years from now. Maybe it will be with the original writers and director or maybe it will be with someone new. Maybe the stars will reprise their roles. Maybe it would even be a good movie. Even for all the maybes, it’s really unlikely that Hollywood won’t try to get every penny out of the Barbie IP it can. The film was a smash hit at the box office bringing in nearly half a billion dollars on a budget of around $145 million; there’s no way that the studio doesn’t try to replicate that success. But the film doesn’t need a sequel. It’s told its story and given viewers the something new and original that they crave and it just needs to be left alone.
