Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, 2023’s Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, was one of the most anticipated and biggest theatrical releases of its year. Adapted from the iconic Mattel doll of the same name, the fantasy comedy saw Barbie leave her perfect, matriarchal world and venture into our real one to confront an existential crisis tied to a girl in our world who is playing with her.

The additional cast includes America Ferrera, Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell.

Released in the summer of 2023 by Warner Bros., alongside Christopher Nolan’s war biopic Oppenheimer in the cultural landmark event cited as Barbenheimer in film and pop culture history, Gerwig’s Barbie film grossed a worldwide total of $1.448 billion from a budget of $128 million-$145 million, landing itself as the highest-grossing 2023 release, as well as Warner Bros. and its director’s biggest film. The film also earned eight Oscar nods, including Best Picture, and won for Best Original Song for Billie Eilish’s What Was I Made For? and landed spots on Best Films of the Year lists.

As expected from its success, a sequel to Barbie was announced in December 2024, despite Gerwig previously affirming she had only signed on for one film.

However, this summer saw most of the cast turn down offers for a follow-up and reports concerning Warner Bros. failing to reach a deal before Mattel took back the Barbie rights, with Deadline informing that “If a sequel is not put into active development by the end of the year, the rights revert to Mattel.”

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Nonetheless, Robbie Brenner, a producer for the film and Mattel Studios boss, took to the Toronto Film Festival to share her stance that Barbie will return to the live-action screen.

“We all want to see the Barbie sequel,” Brenner shared at TIFF recently. “I want to see it too. I’m sure at some point, one day, there will be one.”

She also gave an exciting update for Barbie fans that “an animated Barbie movie with Chris Meledandri” is also in the works, and the studio“will continue to do other Barbie things as well.”

Brenner then reflected on the process of making the first film, sharing how Gerwig came through after a sea of pitches. The Mattel boss discussed how the Lady Bird director “had a vision of what she wanted to do“, adding, in Gerwig’s own words: “‘I love Barbie. I grew up with Barbie; I don’t know what the story is, but I know that it’s gonna live in between a high heel and a Birkenstock‘”, which prompted the company to embark on “the journey with her.”

“Barbie really put Mattel on the map in terms of content and people knowing that we’re making movies”, Brenner added. “That legitimized [Mattel] and it was, ‘Okay, they’re really taking swings, and they’re making bold choices.’”

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