The CEO of Mattel, Ynon Kreiz, has teasedBarbiesequels aplenty alongside the emergence of a Mattel cinematic universe in the wake of director Greta Gerwig’s critical and box office success. Speaking withVariety, Kreiz that the studio is now considering creating a whole host ofBarbiesequels, turning to other dolls in the toy line and expanding on the world created in the firstBarbieouting.
“Barbie, as a brand, has many different iterations. The product lines of Barbie is a very broad brand. In addition to the main Barbie figure, she has family, she has a lot of elements around in her universe. It’s a very rich universe… It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.”
So, thanks to the firstBarbiemovie receiving rave reviews andover performing at the box office, it sounds like the flood gates will open as Mattel reaches into the toy box and frantically searches for the next spinoff. But, before you panic, Kreiz does assure audiences that they will take it one movie at a time.
“At the outset, we’re not saying, ‘Okay, let’s think already about movie two and three.’ Let’s get the first one right and make that a success. And if you do that, opportunities open up very quickly, once you establish the first movie as a successful representation of a franchise on the big screen.”
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Mattel Is Now Planning to Launch Their Very Own MCU
TheBarbiefranchise really is just the beginning for Mattel, who are now planning their very own Mattel cinematic universe. Which, awkwardly, also abbreviates to MCU. In words that will no doubt haunt many a movie fan, Kreiz states that the “ambition” of the studios is to create major franchises.
“Successful movies lend themselves to more movies. Our ambition is to create film franchises.”
And their ambition has already started, with Mattel now actively developing as many as 14 movies using some of their most famous IPs, with many more being considered. These includetheBarneymovie from producer Daniel Kaluuya,Polly Pocketstarring Lily Collins and from writer/director Lena Dunham, aHot Wheelsmovie from producer J.J. Abrams,Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em RobotsstarringFast and Furiousstar Vin Diesel, a movie based onAmerican Girl, aMasters of the Universeadventure, and aMagic 8 Ballmovie that has been described as “a PG-13 thriller,” among others.
Before throwing all of that at us, Mattel has found huge success withBarbie. Directed by Greta Gerwig and written by Gerwig and Noah Baumbach,Barbiestars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa, and Will Ferrell, and follows a Barbie who, after suffering an existential crisis, heads off into the real world.
Barbiehas been met with rave reviews, and currently stands at 90% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes and has grossed over $472 million at the worldwide box office.Barbieis out now in theaters.
