Greta Gerwig Breaks Silence on Barbie's Oscar Snubs

The world has been in love with Barbie ever since it premiered last summer, with the live-action film earning a massive box office haul and a lot of critical acclaim. The latest round of that conversation occurred with this year's Academy Awards, where the film earned a total of eight nominations. Even amid this success, the elements of Barbie that were snubbed caught more attention, including Greta Gerwig for Best Director and Margot Robbie for Best Actress. In a recent interview with Time magazine, Gerwig addressed the reaction to Barbie's nominations (or lack thereof) at the Oscars, while also celebrating the nod she did get for Best Adapted Screenplay. 

"Of course I wanted it for Margot," Gerwig revealed. "But I'm just happy we all get to be there together. A friend's mom said to me, 'I can't believe you didn't get nominated.' I said, 'But I did. I got an Oscar nomination.' She was like, 'Oh, that's wonderful for you!' I was like, 'I know!'"

Will There Be a Barbie Sequel?

At the time of this writing, a Barbie sequel still has yet to be greenlit. Previous reports have indicated that Gerwig, Robbie, and Ken actor Ryan Gosling are not contractually obligated to return, with last year's Hollywood strikes delaying those talks.

"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 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."

What Oscars Is Barbie Nominated For?

Barbie earned a total of eight nominations at the 2024 Academy Awards — Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Ryan Gosling's Ken, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for America Ferrera's Gloria, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Original Song for both "I'm Just Ken" and "What Was I Made For?"

"There's no way to feel sad when you know you're this blessed," Robbie shared shortly after the nominations were announced. "Obviously I think Greta should be nominated as a director because what she did is a once-in-a-career, once-in-a-lifetime thing, what she pulled off, it really is. But it's been an incredible year for all the films. I just suspect it's bigger than us. It's bigger than this movie, it's bigger than our industry... We set out to do something that would shift culture, affect culture, just make some sort of impact. And it's already done that, and some, way more than we ever dreamed it would. And that is truly the biggest reward that could come out of all of this."

What do you think of Greta Gerwig's new comments about Barbie's Oscar nominations? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!