After the Success of ‘Barbie,’ Warner Bros. Is Staying in the Margot Robbie Business
Warner Bros. really likes being in the Margot Robbie business. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has signed a multi-year first look feature film deal with Robbie’s production company LuckyChap Entertainment. It will make WB the first stop for any film projects Robbie wishes to produce through her production arm, which she runs alongside Tom Ackerley and Josey McNamara.
It’s no big question as to why. Robbie and Ackerley together produced WB and Mattel’s “Barbie,” which grossed $1.45 billion as the highest-grossing film of 2023, and went on to earn eight Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture.
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But, not so fast, “Barbie” fans. That doesn’t a sequel is incoming. The announcement made on February 12 by WB film chief heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy doesn’t mention any specific projects just yet, nor does it stipulate whether Robbie would star in the films.
Still, Warner Bros. loves tying the knot in whatever way it can with the splashiest creators and stars. It recently won the rights to Ryan Coogler’s next movie that will reunite him with Michael B. Jordan. It recently struck a deal with Tom Cruise for him to produce and star in original, franchise feature films, and they even gave him an office on the studio’s Burbank lot. That led to some speculation about the future of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise at Paramount, but there was never any danger there, and screenwriter Ehren Kruger is even at work on “Top Gun 3.”
Robbie’s LuckyChap recently produced “Saltburn” for Amazon Studios, and Amazon then acquired LuckyChap’s next film, “My Old Ass,” out of Sundance.
“Margot, Tom, and Josey have built a unique home for storytellers at LuckyChap, where filmmakers are doing incredible work in a supportive and creatively freeing environment,” De Luca and Abdy, Co-Chairs & CEOs, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “As we build our theatrical film slate, Warner Bros. Discovery continues to invest and commit to working with the greatest partners in front of and behind the camera and LuckyChap is certainly among the very best. We are excited to have Margot, Tom, and Josey join our extended family, making movies of all sizes and genres for moviegoers the world over.”
“We founded LuckyChap to fight for projects and filmmakers we believe in,” LuckyChap said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be cementing our long-standing relationship with Warner Bros. Discovery. David, Mike and Pam share our commitment to storytelling and the theatrical experience. We can’t wait for what’s to come.”
Robbie’s LuckyChap previously worked with Warner Bros. on “Birds of Prey,” in which Robbie reprised her role as Harley Quinn in the “Suicide Squad” spinoff film about a team of female anti-heroes. There have been rumors about Robbie and LuckyChap’s involvement in an “Ocean’s Eleven” prequel film (Warner Bros. released 2018’s “Ocean’s Eight”), a project that could reunite her with her “Barbie” co-star Ryan Gosling.
LuckyChap is represented by CAA, Entertainment 360, attorney Jeff Bernstein, and Narrative.
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