Barbie’s success at the box office has clearly got Mattel very excited. In a new interview, the CEO has doubled down on plans for a whole host of planned movie adaptations based on existing toys. "Successful movies lend themselves to more movies," Ynon Kreiz told Variety. "Our ambition is to create film franchises."
The report also features a whole load of new details on the projects that they have planned, from an adult take on Barney the dinosaur to JJ Abrams’ Hot Wheels movie. Among the revelations, we now know that the Polly Pocket film will be written and directed by Lena Dunham and will star Emily in Paris actor Lily Collins in the main role.
We also have some new details on Abrams’ Hot Wheels angle too, which Mattel Films head Robbie Brenner has said will have "real characters that you can relate to, that are three-dimensional, that have emotional journeys."
Then there’s the talk of the Barbie sequels. Greta Gerwig hasn’t ruled it out completely, but she has said she doesn’t have any plans at the moment for it. All in all, 14 movies are currently in development from Mattel, which is obviously keen to capitalize on Barbie’s success.
I just hope they keep in mind what made Barbie such a must-see film in their plans: giving an accomplished director the space to create an interesting new take on an existing IP. Yes, there’s the nostalgia factor of this doll many of us grew up with, but it’s also the comedic risks and Gerwig’s artful handling of the story that really makes it such a triumph. A lesson to remember indeed...
Check out the full list of movies in development from Mattel below:
- Barney (produced by Daniel Kaluuya)
- Polly Pocket (starring Lily Collins and written and directed by Lena Dunham)
- Hot Wheels (produced by JJ Abrams)
- Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots (starring Vin Diesel and written by Ryan Engle)
- American Girl
- Magic 8 Ball
- Masters of the Universe
- Major Matt Mason (starring Tom Hanks and written by Akiva Goldsman and Michael Chabon)
- UNO (written by Marcy Kelly)
- Wishbone (produced by Peter Farrelly)
- Matchbox (written by David Coggeshall)
- Thomas & Friends (directed by Marc Forster)
- View Master
- Christmas Balloon (written by Gabby Lugo and produced by Chris Lemos)
For more on Barbie, check out our breakdown of all the Barbie Easter eggs we spotted as well as our opinion piece on why Ryan Gosling deserves Oscar buzz.
