Negotiations on "Barbie 2" have stalled – Gosling wants $20 million, and the rights will soon return to Mattel

Negotiations for a Barbie sequel have hit a wall, according to Variety – Warner Bros. and the original creative team both want to make the movie, but nobody can agree on the money.

Director Greta Gerwig, writer Noah Baumbach, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling have received six offers from the studio and turned down every one. Sources say Gosling wants $20 million to put the Ken costume back on.

Warner Bros. reportedly dangled a "life-changing" payday for the quartet – a deal that would set a studio record in total value. Total being the key word, since none of the individual paychecks would actually break records on their own.

The last attempt at a deal happened this spring and also went nowhere. WB chief David Zaslav is apparently the lone holdout who thinks the asking price is too steep. If he doesn't budge, the whole project stays on ice. And the clock is ticking – Mattel gets the Barbie film rights back in December, at which point any new movie would need a full reboot with a different director, writer and cast.

Gerwig and Baumbach already have a story idea worked out, but they're not touching it until contracts get signed. The one glimmer of hope is David Ellison, who could end up running Warner Bros. once the Paramount merger closes and might try restarting talks under different terms.

The original Barbie hit theaters in July 2023 and pulled in $1.45 billion worldwide.