A New ‘Barbie’ Animated Movie is in the Works from Illumination!!

After the colossal success of Barbie in 2023, Mattel has finally decided where to take the character next. Deadline reports that a new Barbie animated movie is in the works at Illumination. The film is in very early stages — no cast or creatives are attached yet, and it’s unclear when it will begin production or be released. It’s also unclear if it will have any connection to Greta Gerwig’s 2023 box office blockbuster, but she’s not mentioned as being involved in the new animated film in any capacity. Deadline also reports that Universal Pictures will handle distribution for the film and is planning it for a wide release. After Barbie grossed over $1.4 billion globally, it would not be a surprise to see this new animated film take home another haul at the box office.

There were plenty of moving pieces that went into Barbie being a success in 2023. One was certainly its connection to Oppenheimer, the Oscar-winning WWII epic from Christopher Nolan. Fans made an event out of both films releasing on the same weekend, even coining it Barbenheimer. There have been attempts to recreate this since the Barbenheimer phenomenon — fans tried with Wicked and Gladiator II, but Glicked just didn’t pan out. Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible were also given names like Mission Stitch and Lilo Impossible, but they also failed to reach the same heights as Barbenheimer. Barbie was extremely well-received by critics and audiences, and with star power like Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling delivering such an important and timely message, it’s no wonder the film earned as much as it did globally.

One Big Project Could Keep Greta Gerwig from Doing ‘Barbie 2’

Fans have been asking questions about a potential sequel to Barbie since the film hit theaters, but Greta Gerwig is working on something else that will keep her from returning to Barbieland for at least a few years. She’s writing and directing a new Chronicles of Narnia film that’s already been set for release on November 26, 2026. The film stars Daniel Craig, Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan, and Emma Mackey. Even if Gerwig begins work on a potential Barbie 2 as soon as Narnia hits theaters, it would be 2027 or even 2028 before it could be released.