She has the world at her perfectly arched feet, still breaking box office records and sparking whispers of awards following her career-defining performance in Barbie. But two months since unveiling the hit film to the public, and taking it on the road for one sartorially-perfect world promo tour, Margot Robbie has apparently had enough. While the actress has yet to comment publicly on a potential sequel, sources tell Closer that she’s quietly taken herself out of the running to star in another film. Instead, we’re told, she’s keen in her role as producer to potentially expand the Barbie filmic universe and pass the mantle onto another actress. After all, as the film’s narrator so eloquently tells us, “Barbie is all these women. And all these women are Barbie.”

“Margot couldn’t be more grateful and happy for the opportunity she had in Barbie,” says an insider close to the Australian actress, who – in her dual role as main star and producer – had reportedly made $50million from both her salary and box office bonuses. “It’s taken her to a whole new stratosphere as far as her pull in Hollywood goes. She’s now in a position where studios are virtually falling over themselves to keep her happy, so it’s genuinely a case of what she wants to take as her next steps creatively, rather than what’s needed to pay the bills. From a career and financial perspective, she’s set.”

While Barbie won critical praise for its tongue-in-cheek and deft critique of patriarchal and gender stereotypes, Margot herself proved in the making that – just like her plastic alter-ego – she’s no airhead. After entering talks in 2018 to both star in the movie and produce it, alongside her husband, Tom Ackerley, through their production company LuckyChap Entertainment, it was Margot who approached Greta Gerwig to direct. The latter then signed on, on the condition that she and her partner, Noah Baumbach, would write the script. As well as securing Greta, Margot also pitched the film to Warner Bros, comparing its potential success to Jurassic Park and jokingly promising them that – if done her way – the film would gross over $1billion.

At the time, such statements may have sounded far-fetched, but less than two months since the film hit cinemas, Margot, 33, has officially delivered on her promise. Earlier this month, it was reported that Barbie had grossed $612.3million in the US and Canada, and $771.9million in other territories (including $114.9 million in the UK) – taking it to a worldwide total of over $1.3 billion. What’s more, it’s been largely credited for reviving the dwindling cinema industry. The day it was released – alongside Christopher Nolan’s epic, Oppenheimer – on 9 July will go down in history as a cultural reset, after fans flocked to cinemas to see both Barbie and Oppenheimer, in a phenomenon that has since been dubbed Barbenheimer. Despite sharing the billing with Oppenheimer, it has majorly outperformed the latter in box office numbers and has since become the highest-grossing film of the year. It took a lot of moving parts to make it happen – but Margot stands at the epicentre of the film’s runaway success.

It’s no surprise, then, that there are already murmurings of a sequel. Director and writer Greta has said herself that, while she has no plans as yet to make a follow-up, she hopes her film “is the launch of a world and a bunch of different movies”. Margot has echoed her sentiments, saying, “It could go a million different directions from this point.” One obvious direction, of course, would be to do a Ken-focused feature. In his role as the peroxide blonde beach him-bo, Ryan Gosling very nearly stole the show – with critics praising his “flawlessly funny” performance and pitch-perfect comic timing. And, while Ryan himself has made no comment on any future films, our source says it’s the logical next step for the powers that be.

“Everybody at the studio is talking about making a Ken movie – as soon as possible, in fact,” we’re told. “For Margot, it’s all about the story. Barbie ended with Margot’s Barbie becoming a real woman, so a follow-up to that journey isn’t needed. Instead, there is plenty of room for Ryan to do a full-blown movie of his own, with Margot involved behind the scenes. The Ken movie will need its own Barbie, and the universe that both Margot and Greta created provides for that. There is an infinite number of Barbies who could step in, which is why the original movie was never built around having just one Barbie in the first place.”

As for Margot’s next move in front of the cameras, that remains to be seen. According to our source, “There are projects in the works that she and Tom are committed to – she’ll see those through, for sure. There’s also a lot of talk about them wanting to start a family sooner rather than later.” For the moment, we’re told, Margot’s keen to keep her options open, while duly basking in the success of all her Barbie efforts. Still, there’s no denying that she has the Midas touch – and having delivered on her promise to bring a $1billion film to the big screen, it’s unlikely that both Mattel and studio executives will want to let her go so easily. Whatever Margot’s involvement may be in any future films, the film’s tagline says it best: As Barbie, “She’s everything.”