Skydance Pushes to Close 'Barbie 2' Deal by Year's End After Talks Stalled Over $25 Million Paydays

Skydance leaders want a "Barbie" sequel deal done before the end of 2026 after talks collapsed under Warner Bros. Discovery, Variety reported. Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling were seeking about $25 million each plus bigger profit shares, according to one source.

Nov 12, 2026 - 09:11

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Skydance chief executive David Ellison and his leadership team are working to close a deal for a sequel to "Barbie" before the end of 2026, after negotiations with the film's creative team broke down under Warner Bros. Discovery's previous management, Variety reported on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

According to Variety's cover story on Skydance, the stalled talks centered on pay. One person familiar with the deal told the trade publication that director Greta Gerwig, producer-star Margot Robbie and co-star Ryan Gosling were seeking equal compensation of around $25 million each, along with larger shares of the film's back-end profits. Gerwig's co-screenwriter and partner, Noah Baumbach, would share in the writing fee with Gerwig under the proposal, the report said.

The New York Post, following up on Variety's reporting the same day, described the dispute as an early test for Ellison, whose company completed its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Oct. 6. Skydance declined to comment to the Post, and a CAA spokesperson also declined to comment.

Why the Talks Collapsed

Variety reported that Gerwig and Baumbach pitched a concept for a sequel to Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, but would not allow a new movie to enter development until new contracts were signed for themselves, Robbie and Gosling that reflected the success of the first film. The negotiations were led by Bryan Lourd, the CAA agent who represents the creative team.

When the team also requested increased back-end participation, then-Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav balked and shut the talks down, according to Variety. That decision came as the studio's licensing rights to the Barbie brand faced a year-end renewal deadline. De Luca and Abdy were ousted days before Skydance completed its takeover in October, the Post reported.

The standoff had been building for months. In an Aug. 12 report, Variety said Warner Bros. had made more than six offers to the creative team over three years, all of which were rejected. A studio source described the most recent offer, made in late spring, as the highest Warner Bros. had ever made for a filmmaking team and its stars, though another deal source disputed that characterization. At the time, Variety reported that Gosling was said to be seeking $20 million to return as Ken, and that Robbie had been projected to earn roughly $50 million in salary and back-end compensation from the first film.

The August report also said the creative team was not asking for "first dollar gross," a deal structure that pays participants from box office receipts before the studio recoups its costs. The original contracts for the top creatives included no obligation to make a sequel, according to a New York Times report cited by Variety.

The Rights Deadline and Mattel's Stake

The pressure to reach an agreement is tied to Warner Bros.' rights to the Barbie property. Variety reported in August that the studio had roughly four months to put another "Barbie" movie into active development, or the film rights to the doll would revert to toymaker Mattel. In that scenario, Variety said, Mattel would not be permitted to build on Gerwig's film and would face a full reboot.

Two sources told Variety this week that Ellison, Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz and Lourd want to make the "Barbie 2" deal happen by the end of the year. Kreiz is closely tied to the property: before joining Skydance, he served as chief executive of Mattel, which produced the 2023 film through its Mattel Films unit alongside Warner Bros.

"Barbie," released in July 2023, grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and is the highest-grossing film in Warner Bros.' history, according to Variety. The film made Gerwig the most commercially successful woman director at the global box office.

A Costly Deal for a Company Cutting Costs

Any agreement would arrive as Skydance pursues aggressive cost reductions. The company carries roughly $80 billion in net debt and expects interest expenses of more than $6 billion in 2027, according to Variety and the Post. Skydance has targeted at least $6 billion in annual cost savings over three years, and in a Nov. 9 shareholder letter identified corporate overhead, offices and facilities as its largest target, with at least $2.2 billion in projected annual savings, the Post reported.

At the same time, the company has pledged to spend more than $30 billion a year on content, more than Netflix's roughly $20 billion and Disney's $24 billion in 2026, Variety reported. Skydance also committed to releasing 30 films a year as part of the acquisition; Variety said 22 films across Paramount and Warner Bros. Pictures have been dated for 2028 so far.

Variety reported that layoffs are expected by the end of 2026 and into the first quarter of 2027. The review of Warner Bros. Discovery's books has also turned up what two sources described to Variety as "tens of millions" of dollars in hospitality spending on meals, travel and gifts.

Skydance's film operations are now overseen by Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who control Paramount, Warner Bros. and DC Studios, according to Variety. In October, before the merger closed, Variety reported that Goldberg and Greenstein were already in contact with Robbie's production company, LuckyChap Entertainment.

No release date, plot details or production schedule for a "Barbie" sequel have been announced, and none of the stars or filmmakers has publicly confirmed participation.