Barbie Star Margot Robbie Addresses Sequel and Ken Spinoff Plans

2023 has come to an end, and it was an interesting year for theatrical releases. While some unexpected movies flopped, others dominated the box office. Barbie ended up being the highest-grossing movie of the year, so it's no surprise people are already wondering if the film will be getting a sequel. Director Greta Gerwig recently played coy when asked about a Ken-centric follow-up, and Ryan Gosling (Ken) jokingly shared some ideas about what a Ken sequel could be about. During a recent interview with Variety, Margot Robbie (Barbie) addressed the potential sequel or Ken spinoff.

"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. 

"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."

Margot Robbie Praises Greta Gerwig:

Robbie and Gerwig recently took part in Deadline's Contenders panel about Barbie, and Robbie shared lots of praise for the director.

"I definitely didn't want to try and make a puff piece Barbie. I wanted us to run at the scary things as much as we celebrated the wonderful things," Robbie, who also executive produced the film, said during the panel. "That's exactly why I went after Greta, because I was like, 'She would do that.'"

"There's no way we could be on stage and have done what we got to do if those women hadn't done it," Gerwig said of the women creators who came before her. "So don't feel alone in this place. I feel like there's lots of them who've come before and will come after."

"I'll just jump in and say what Greta is too humble to say," Robbie added. "She has literally changed the game. From now on, it's different because of what she's done. It's massive. And someone is going to come forward with another original idea that requires a big budget, and there's going to be a female lead, and they're going to point to Barbie and say, 'But that made money.' Everyone's gonna go, 'Oh, right we're gonna have to green light this.' And that's amazing."

Do you think Barbie should get a sequel? Tell us in the comments!