This 7-Year-Old Ryan Gosling Role Needs A Sequel More Than Barbie Needs A Ken Spinoff

There might be a buzz around Ryan Gosling’s Ken getting a Barbie spinoff, but there’s another role from the actor’s past that needs a sequel even more. Ryan Gosling has had many memorable roles in his career, but 2023 has been all about his role in Barbie, where he played the iconic character Ken and received an overwhelmingly positive reaction to his role. With his song “I’m Just Ken” being a standout moment ahead of Barbie‘s ending and the actor earning plenty of Oscars buzz for his comedic performance, the demand for a Ryan Gosling-led spinoff of Greta Gerwig’s movie isn’t surprising.

However, with Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie suggesting that a Barbie sequel isn’t in the cards anytime soon, a Ken spinoff also seems unlikely. While this would have been a great way to see Gosling amp up his comic and heartfelt “Kenergy” to its fullest, the Barbie franchise, surprisingly, isn’t the first role in which the actor has elicited this same sentiment. Rather, Gosling already proved his proficiency in playing a Ken-type character opposite Russell Crowe in an action-comedy from 2016, which has shockingly been without a sequel in the seven years since its critically acclaimed release.

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Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling’s Underrated 7-Year-Old Comedy Prompts Calls For Sequel

Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling’s The Nice Guys experienced a newfound online appreciation, with even a sequel demand seven years after its release.

Nice Guys (2016) Still Hasn’t Received A Sequel

The audience wasn’t on board immediately

The crime comedy The Nice Guys hit theaters in 2016, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as Holland March and Jackson Healy, two 1970s-era private investigators who team up for a missing person’s case. Directed by Lethal Weapon‘s Shane Black, the movie received praise for its funny scenes and the chemistry between Gosling and Crowe. However, over seven years later, The Nice Guys 2 still hasn’t happened. Debuting at a peak time for Gosling, shortly after The Big Short and before La La Land, the 2016 film boasts an astounding 91% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but The Nice Guys sadly bombed at the box office. The dark comedy has only managed to gross $71.3 million worldwide, which barely covered its estimated production budget of $50 million (via Box Office Mojo).

Despite Gosling’s ever-growing popularity and The Nice Guys‘ positive reviews from the critics, that wasn’t enough to warrant a sequel because its audience appreciation was too far delayed. Without a big showing from audiences at theaters, the movie’s commercial failure kept the studio from green-lighting a follow-up. However, The Nice Guys eventually found success on streaming platforms, and after Barbie‘s massive success, the demand for a sequel has been reignited. The Nice Guys becoming popular again gives hope that the film might receive a sequel, and Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling even came up with a title idea for The Nice Guys 2. There haven’t been any public updates on a new installment for the film as of late, but the fact that The Nice Guys has become a cult hit is certainly improving its odds of a possible sequel.

Why Nice Guys 2 Would Be More Exciting Than A Ken Movie

The possibilities for fun cases are endless

Despite Ryan Gosling’s universally acclaimed portrayal of Ken in Barbie, The Nice Guys 2 would be more exciting. Ryan Gosling has shown off his acting skills throughout his career, with roles in dramas, thrillers, musicals, romances, and comedies, many of them becoming cult classics. However, The Nice Guys and Barbie proved some of his best work happens when he’s taking on the main comic relief role opposite the voice of reason protagonist. Having his own Ken film would make for an entertaining watch, but he was at his best in scenes with Barbie because of his chemistry with Margot Robbie. Because of that, a sequel to The Nice Guys, which would inherently also need to bring back Russell Crowe, would be even more exciting than a potential Ken spinoff.

Gosling was hilarious in Barbie, but it was in The Nice Guys that he truly proved his knack for comedy, and it would be a great time to continue that. On top of that, it would reunite him with Russell Crowe, with whom he had undeniable chemistry both on- and off-screen. Since it’s been seven years since the original film premiered, a possible sequel to The Nice Guys also now has the opportunity to flawlessly switch the ’70s comedy straight into the ’80s. Barbie has already proven this year how great Gosling looks in flashy outfits, which gives The Nice Guys sequel countless material for amazing jokes, costumes, and funny moments between Gosling and Crowe.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes