Barbie sequel stalls over star salaries

The much-anticipated follow-up to the box-office hit Barbie is floundering amid salary negotiations.

A report by The New York Times has revealed that Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav has balked at the rich deals proposed by Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling for the second film.

Gosling, who was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his role as Ken, is angling to raise his pay to $20 million (£15 million), the outlet reports, citing a Warner Bros spokesperson who noted that there has not been an agreed-upon financial framework for the return.

Warner Bros did not require the stars of Barbie to commit to sequels, so they only signed a one-movie deal.

The Times reports that director Greta Gerwig and her husband and Barbie writing partner Noah Baumbach have an idea for the new movie, but won't share the concept with the studio until the deals are complete.

Warner Bros co-chairs Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca confirmed the talks in a statement.

"We have a rights deal with Mattel in place and have made a series of big offers to try and finalise deals to make the next Barbie film. Unfortunately, we have been unable to reach an agreement thus far."

Barbie made more than $1.4 billion (£1.04 billion) at the box office for Warner Bros and earned eight Academy Award nominations.