Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: barbie, luckychap, margot robbie

Margot Robbie Says That Barbie "Wasn't Designed To Be A Trilogy"

Barbie star Margot Robbie says they put everything into this film and it "wasn't designed to be a trilogy."

Published Sun, 07 Jan 2024 13:47:07 -0600

Article Summary

Margot Robbie stresses Barbie was made as a stand-alone film, not a trilogy.
LuckyChap reaffirms no sequel planned, while still engaged with Barbie's success.
Robbie advocates for original, bold projects over Barbie franchise expansion.
Acknowledgment of Barbie's potential award nominations as Oscar season ends.

There is absolutely no denying how massive Barbie ended up being in 2023. The problem with a movie getting the kind of critical acclaim and box office success that Barbie has is that studios will come out and try to make it happen again. That's just the way of the business; they are always trying to get lightning to strike twice while often missing the point of why lightning struck in the first place. However, Margot Robbie and her producing co-founders at LuckyChap, Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara, have been saying from day one that this film was never made to kick off a franchise. So when Variety brought up a Ken spin-off film that people are talking about or a sequel, Robbie once again repeated that everything was on the table for Barbie. It was never made with the intention of being a trilogy of any kind.

"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 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."

In many ways, even though the movie was released over the summer, Ackerley says they are still working on it, explaining that "We're still washing the pink off our hands. And the truth is, we still work on "Barbie" every day. We can definitively say we haven't planned a sequel; we're still focused on this movie." The awards season is coming to an end with the Oscars, and there is a good chance that Barbie will get some award nominations in a couple of different categories. So even months later, the people involved with this film still feel like they are very much still involved with this film. LuckyChap had a great 2023 overall. Saltburn caused quite a stir on social media in the fall, so everyone involved should enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes from a highly successful year in every possible way.

Barbie: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have a full-on existential crisis. Or you're a Ken.

From Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig (Little Women, Lady Bird) comes Barbie, starring Oscar-nominees Margot Robbie (Bombshell, I, Tonya) and Ryan Gosling (La La Land, Half Nelson) as Barbie and Ken, alongside America Ferrera (End of Watch, the How to Train Your Dragon films), Kate McKinnon (Bombshell, Yesterday), Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Juno), Ariana Greenblatt (Avengers: Infinity War, 65), Issa Rae (The Photograph, Insecure), Rhea Perlman (I'll See You in My Dreams, Matilda), and Will Ferrell (the Anchorman films, Talladega Nights). The film also stars Ana Cruz Kayne (Little Women), Emma Mackey (Emily, Sex Education), Hari Nef (Assassination Nation, Transparent), Alexandra Shipp (the X-Men films), Kingsley Ben-Adir (One Night in Miami, Peaky Blinders), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education), Scott Evans (Grace and Frankie), Jamie Demetriou (Cruella), Connor Swindells (Sex Education, Emma), Sharon Rooney (Dumbo, Jerk), Nicola Coughlan (Bridgerton, Derry Girls), Ritu Arya (The Umbrella Academy), Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Dua Lipa and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren (The Queen). Gerwig directed Barbie from a screenplay by Gerwig & Oscar nominee Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, The Squid and the Whale), based on Barbie by Mattel. The film's producers are Oscar nominee David Heyman (Marriage Story, Gravity), Robbie, Tom Ackerley, and Robbie Brenner, with Michael Sharp, Josey McNamara, Ynon Kreiz, Courtenay Valenti, Toby Emmerich, and Cate Adams serving as executive producers. The film was distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures and released in theaters only nationwide on July 21, 2023, and beginning internationally on July 19, 2023.