"Barbie 2" in doubt as Warner Bros. may lose rights to brand in December

Warner Bros. has been locked in months of fruitless negotiations with Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig over pay for a "Barbie" sequel. When the studio raised its offer, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav vetoed it as too generous. The pressure is acute because Warner may lose the Barbie brand rights in December, which would effectively kill the project. The original 2023 film grossed $1.448 billion worldwide.