Just two weeks after its release, Barbie is generating huge wads of cash for Warner Bros. at the box office. Worldwide receipts are expected to exceed a cool billion in a few days.
But the unprecedented success of the film hasn’t prompted the studio to announce that a sequel is in the works, prompted largely by the paralyzing impact of the writers’ and actors’ strike that has shut down much of the industry.

According to published reports, neither of Barbie’s stars have concluded deals to appear in a sequel, which is considered unusual for such a blockbuster of a film. Margot Robbie, who played the iconic doll and was also one of the movie’s producers, does not have an option in place. Nor does Ryan Gosling, who played opposite her as Ken.
Director Greta Gerwig doesn’t have a sequel deal in place, though it’s believed that she was approached about the prospect but on her agents’ advice elected to wait until after the release of the film to begin negotiations.

Barbie was released on July 21, but there’s still no word about any movement on her part.

“At this moment, it’s all I’ve got,” Gerwig was recently quoted by The New York Times as saying. “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.

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The stellar performance by Ryan Gosling in Barbie has been fueling speculation that any sequel might focus on Ken, but other observers dismiss that possibility, given the fact that Barbie’s evolution from plaything to powerhouse is, essentially, a story for and about women in a culture that still tries to stifle their voices.

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