# ‘Barbie 2’ talks hit snag over $25M paydays for Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig in new test for David Ellison

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/barbie-2-talks-hit-snag-over-25m-paydays-for-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-and-greta-gerwig-in-new-test-for-david-ellison/
- Published: 2026-11-11T21:48:19+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T22:27:10+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/11/business/barbie-2-talks-hit-snag-over-25m-paydays-for-margot-robbie-ryan-gosling-and-greta-gerwig-in-new-test-for-david-ellison/
- Topics: Business, Companies, Research, Science, World

## Key points

- The three “Barbie” leads reportedly want $25 million each for a sequel.
- Talks stalled over pay and profit-sharing terms.
- Skydance is weighing the deal amid heavy debt and cost cuts.

## Summary

Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Greta Gerwig have reportedly sought $25 million each, plus larger shares of profits, to make a proposed “Barbie 2”. Negotiations stalled under Warner Bros.’ former management, leaving Skydance chief David Ellison to decide whether to strike a deal as he expands the studio’s film plans while cutting costs across its newly acquired media business.

The proposal reportedly includes a writing fee shared by Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach, and former Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav objected to the profit-sharing terms. Skydance completed its $111 billion takeover of WBD on 6 October; sources cited by Variety said Ellison, agent Bryan Lourd and former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz hope to reach an agreement by year’s end. Skydance has about $80 billion in net debt and expects more than $6 billion in interest costs in 2027, while targeting at least $6 billion in annual savings over three years.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.