Half a week on, and the world still can’t get enough of Barbie; as the film approaches a $400 million box office milestone, its true victory is the one it’s carved into the hearts of moviegoers around the world. Indeed, at once a touching ode to feminism and firmly incisive examination of the many faces of the patriarchy, the impression left by Greta Gerwig and company will be a tough one to shake.
And as Barbie continues to dominate the realm of ticket sales, it’s no big jump to start musing on if a sequel could be on the docket before long; with a monetary haul of this caliber, we’re sure Warner Bros. would be all too ready to bite.
But while the Barbie mastermind joked the other day that she’d love to give sequel reins to one Sylvester Stallone, she doesn’t actually seem terribly keen on cooking up a second plight for Margot Robbie’s stylish protagonist. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gerwig revealed that she feels as though she’s done everything she needs to do with the world of Barbie already, and that while she’d have no qualms about seeing it continue as franchise, it’s not in her cards at the moment.
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.
And, to be honest, it would be for the best if Barbie were left as a standalone triumph; it’s hard to imagine how the specific, dual-pronged ethos of Barbie could be sincerely recaptured in a way even close to what Gerwig accomplished, and without an Oppenheimer-esque rival to help drive ticket sales, even the suits might find themselves full of regret if this is a path they choose to go down.
Indeed, it looks like Barbie 2 hopefuls are best off hyperfixating on the plethora of other upcoming movies based on Mattel products instead.
Barbie is now singing and dancing in theaters everywhere.