Ryan Gosling is insisting that he knows nothing about a potential “Barbie” sequel — but if it does end up happening, he has a few ideas for the future of Ken.
During a conversation about the $1 billion blockbuster at London’s BFI Southbank on Friday, Gosling and co-star America Ferrera dodged a fan question about “Barbie 2,” with Gosling saying: “Oh, I’m not going anywhere near that. We really know nothing.”
“We have no information,” Ferrera added. “I will say, what Greta and Margot have said is they did not set out to make a franchise. They put it all out on the table. Every bit of it that they loved and that they knew to do, they did. Which is refreshing, right? We’re not setting it up for 20 years of ‘Barbie’ movies. But then again, I know nothing, so there might be 20 years [of ‘Barbie’]… or a Ken spinoff?”
Recently, director Greta Gerwig was asked about the idea of a Ken-centric follow-up in an interview with “60 Minutes,” and the answer was not no. “I mean, the truth is, you know…I guess we’ll see,” she said, adding: “We had way too much material for Ken. We would write, and write and write.” Gerwig has not been shy about being open to another “Barbie” movie, telling People magazine in August that she hopes the film “is the launch of a world and a bunch of different Barbie movies.” Mattel execs agree, telling PvNew that Barbieland is “a very rich universe… It’s a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.”
But Gosling may have a slightly different vision for Ken 2.0, joking during the Q&A, “Can it be a husky Ken? Can I play Husky Ken, like Sandwich Ken? Can I play that Ken next time?”
Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, was also meant to participate in the conversation, but was unable to travel to London. Commenting on Robbie’s absence at the beginning of the panel, Gosling said, “That disappointment that you feel that Barbie’s not here — that’s Ken’s life.”
