Why Greta Gerwig Wishes ‘Barbie’ Movie Was 8 Hours Long (Exclusive)

Since its release in July, Barbie has received widespread critical acclaim and enormous box office success. However, it seems there’s a whole lot of footage fans never got to see.

Gerwig walked the red carpet at the 2023 Gotham Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Monday, and she spoke with ET’s Rachel Smith about the incredible feedback the film has gotten since its premiere.

“It’s been an amazing year,” Gerwig marveled. “You always hope that things connect and you believe in them, but this was beyond anything I could have foreseen… it’s an amazing moment.”

The film raked in a staggering $1.44 billion worldwide, making it the 14th highest-earning movie of all time, and Warner Bros. most successful film of the year.

That being said, Gerwig admits that, if she had her way, the movie would have been jam-packed with even more than fans saw in theaters.

“I mean there’s a million things that got left on the cutting room floor that are incredible moments,” Gerwig shared. “I mean, I would say most of them that I miss are just alternate takes of what we already had in.”

“I mean, you know, I wish the movie could be eight hours long,” Gerwig added with a laugh. “Every part of the cast was so talented.”

While there might have been a lot that didn’t make it into the final cut, that doesn’t mean Gerwig — or star Margot Robbie, who also walked the carpet a Monday’s event — are anxious to jump into a sequel.

“I mean, at the moment we are at zero,” Gerwig admitted. “I feel like I’m tapped out. But, I mean, life is long. You never know.”

As Gerwig pointed out, Barbie, as a character, has “been around since 1959, and she still looks she looks good. She looks better than ever, that’s the truth.” So there’s always times for new projects to form and evolve in the years to come.

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