After the box office success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, it’s no surprise that Mattel wants to bring more toy-fueled projects to Hollywood.
In a series of interviews with Variety, Mattel executives shared a slate of major projects already in the works with big names attached. They’re also, of course, more than eager to look at potential sequels to Barbie, even though Gerwig has said the first movie is all she had in mind at this time.
That hasn’t deterred Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, who called Barbie “a very broad and very elastic brand, in terms of opportunities.”
Other toy projects are also chugging along, and Variety gives updates on many of them. The live-action Barney movie, for example, is going to be a “unique” film for adults in the vein of Being John Malkovich or Adaptation. The Polly Pocket movie written by Lena Dunham is also chugging along—the script is already written—and will star Lily Collins.
Mattel is also partnering with Warner Bros. for a J.J. Abrams-produced movie about Hot Wheels that will be “grounded and gritty.” And if that wasn’t enough action for you, the toy company is also working with Universal Pictures and none other than Vin Diesel, who will star in a feature based on Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
Other toy-based projects are also in the works, including something around American Girl, Magic 8 Ball, Masters of the Universe, Major Matt Mason (which will star Tom Hanks and has Akiva Goldsman and Michael Chabon writing the script), UNO, Wishbone, Matchbox, View Master, and Christmas Balloon—the last of which is not a toy, but based on the true story about how a girl put her Christmas list in a balloon, which was then found and fulfilled by a grieving couple.
How these movies compare to Barbie remains to be seen, if you decide to see them in the first place when they inevitably make their way to a theater near you.
