Barbie Oscar Campaign Will Put Film Up for Best Original Screenplay

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's script is getting an Oscar push.

In addition to earning over $1 billion at the global box office, Barbie could very well be taking home an Academy Award. On Wednesday, a new report from Variety revealed that Warner Bros. will be campaigning for Barbie in the 2023-2024 Oscars, and will submit Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach's script for the film in the Best Original Screenplay category.

Fans have wondered for weeks which screenplay category Barbie might submit for, especially given the fact that it is inspired by the beloved Mattel doll of the same name. According to the report, because Barbie's credits specifically say the film is "based on 'Barbie' by Mattel", the film is drawing from the doll itself and not any "previously published material", which is usually the qualifier for Best Adapted Screenplay submissions. 

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. According to a recent report from The Hollywood Reporter, there are currently no options or deals in place for Gerwig and stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling to return for a Barbie sequel. Robbie, in particular, is reportedly not obligated to return to her role of Stereotypical Barbie, but could return as a producer on a Barbie sequel if she wanted to.

As the report outlines, Warner Bros. Pictures "made overtures" about Gerwig possibly returning to direct a Barbie sequel, but her team delayed those talks until the first film's debut. With negotiations around new projects on hold until the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are over, there's a chance that Gerwig, Robbie, and Gosling could return for a new Barbie movie — but they would probably have to negotiate much more lucrative contracts, in response to the film's box office performance. Gerwig has indicated that she currently does not have any ideas for a sequel film.

"At this moment, it's all I've got," Gerwig revealed. "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."

What Is Barbie About?

In Barbie, to live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken. From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig comes Barbie, which hit theaters on July 21st. Barbie stars Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken, alongside America FerreraKate McKinnonMichael CeraAriana GreenblattIssa RaeRhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell. The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma MackeyHari NefAlexandra ShippKingsley Ben-AdirSimu LiuNcuti GatwaScott EvansJamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren. Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach, based on Barbie by Mattel

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