Hot off the main stage at MIPCOM, Mattel Studios President Robbie Brenner caught up with The Hollywood Reporter about the company’s epic slate.
Mattel’s upcoming projects include a Polly Pocket live-action film with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine attached and Lily Collins starring as well as Travis Knight’s Masters of the Universe with Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes and Idris Elba coming June 2026 from Amazon MGM. Elsewhere, Ayo Edebiri has penned a Barney movie script for A24, produced by Daniel Kaluuya, and Wicked helmer Jon M. Chu is also working on a live-action Hot Wheels movie at Warner Bros. Sam Hargrave, meanwhile, is currently shooting a Matchbox film with John Cena and Jessica Biel at Apple.
On Monday, Mattel generated more buzz with the announcement of a Magic 8 Ball TV series, directed by The Sixth Senses‘s M. Night Shyamalan and Brad Falchuk (Glee, American Horror Story) writing.
“He had raised his hand and he got introduced to some of the Mattel IP, and he responded to that,” said Brenner, previously executive producer of Mattel Films ahead of her promotion to the top job in September 2023, about getting the Oscar-nominated filmmaker aboard.
“We met and kicked it around and we started talking and marinating on it, and it just kind of evolved from there. He is truly wonderful,” she told THR. “I don’t think he ever gets involved with anything that he doesn’t feel really passionate about. He has serious conviction, and his thoughts and ideas are witnessed in his movies and everything that he does.”
While Brenner couldn’t reveal explicit details about what form a Magic 8 Ball series will take, she did confirm she’s read Falchuk’s pilot script. “He was such a big get,” she added about Falchuk. “He’s a wonderful writer and world creator and I think everyone’s intrigued by the 8 Ball. We all want to know what our destiny is, right? I think everybody is going to tune into that one.”
During her MIP headliner session Tuesday morning in Cannes, Brenner also discussed a couple of her biggest takeaways about the hotly anticipated Masters of the Universe adaptation. “I went and visited the set last year, and out of all the movies that I’ve worked on in my entire life — even Barbie — it was [the biggest]. It was massive. I think we took over two or three sound stages. This was on eight back lots… [Characters] walking around that are eight-feet tall. There are these crazy characters in this movie.”
“I just actually got to see a director’s cut of the movie,” she added, “and [I was] absolutely blown away. That will be our second theatrical movie… I think it’s a perfect compliment to Barbie. I think people are going to be so excited. It is so much fun and feels so different.”
Mattel famously saw immense success with Greta Gerwig’s 2023 blockbuster hit that went on to not only gross over $1.4 billion at the global box office, but become a cultural phenomenon and land eight Oscar nominations. Brenner says this proof of concept “blew the doors open” for Mattel in Hollywood.
“I think people realize, ‘Okay, Mattel is here.’ We’re a force,” she said. “Everything is not going to be Barbie, but at the same time, we mean business. We want to tell great stories.” On challenges ahead, Brenner confessed there isn’t anything she’s overly concerned about. “I don’t feel any sort of impediments. I feel like we just have incredible opportunity with all of this IP. Now, with Mattel Studios having television and film sit under one umbrella and one ecosystem, there’s endless possibilities.”
“[There is] enthusiasm, I think, for taking such a bold swing with Barbie and being rewarded for it,” added Brenner. “Because people realize we can laugh at ourselves. Everything doesn’t have to be so serious.”
The exec admitted that leading the jam-packed slate is an experience akin to having a lot of pots — some simmering and others boiling over — on the stove. Among those in the pipeline are a live-action feature film based on their American Girl doll line and Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots with Vin Diesel at Universal. She declined to choose a favorite.
“I’m very excited about Polly Pocket. It is really fun,” Brenner began. “I’m excited about Barney, Hot Wheels — who wouldn’t be excited about working with Jon M. Chu and J.J. Abrams? “I love Vin Diesel… and American Girl — the way into the story is so good and so unexpected.”
Brenner boasts a background in indie film production having worked on 2013’s Oscar hit Dallas Buyers Club. She started out as a partner at The Firm and went to Miramax for nine years, honing her talent-spotting skill that’s now in motion at Mattel. “I worked at Miramax in the heyday of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs and Shakespeare in Love, all of these unbelievable movies,” said the Mattel chief. “So what I respond to is storytelling and different, exciting voices.”
“I don’t think it’s an accident that the past [few] years, if you look at all the best pictures, where Anora won last year and Everything Everywhere All At Once and Parasite,” said Brenner, “I mean those are all very indie filmmaker-driven, polarizing stories. Anora — that movie just really resonated with people. You felt for her. You were emotionally connected to her. I feel before I think about anything in life. My emotions tell me and guide me.”
MIPCOM Cannes 2025 runs Oct. 13-16.