Having resigned to the fact that Hollywood is squarely focused on strong IPs to make their movies instead of original stories, I think I know a great follow-up to Greta Gerwig’s smash hit Barbie

. Barbie was an unexpected box office hit. While the film was based on a popular property, with the incredible Margot Robbie starring, and Gerwig directing, the level of success for the film was a total surprise as the movie racked up an enormous $1.4 billion (via Box Office Mojo), alongside releasing on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s Academy Award-winning film Oppenheimer, which managed to rack up a high box office of its own.

However, it clearly set a precedent, with all eyes on what could come next in that niche genre of films based on nostalgic toys. While video game movies are carving out their corner of the market, and superhero movies appear to be fluctuating between billion-dollar hits and barely scraping together a few hundred million, the toy film market is just beginning. And there is a perfect follow-up for Barbie that could perform well if it gets the right actor and director involved.

A Max Steel Movie Would Be The Perfect Follow-Up To Barbie’s Success

It Could Be An Incredible Way To Build Out The Mattel Movie Franchise

Max Steel may not be on the same level as Barbie, but the character was an exciting counter that young boys often gravitated towards. While Barbie was there to dress up and play dream house, Max Steel was a true action figure, who was always ready to get into trouble. On par with heroes like James Bond, Max Steel was designed for kids, and he managed to build up a significant following in the late 1990s and 2000s.

Admittedly, the character is much more recent than Barbie, and it doesn’t have the same weight for kids across multiple generations, but there is a chance that a Max Steel movie could match up and deliver something similar to what Barbie did. Whether it could effectively earn a billion dollars is perhaps ambitious, but if the Mattel universe of films was to have a crossover, and Barbie found herself stumbling into the world of Max Steel, things could get interesting.

Would A Self-Aware Max Steel Movie In The Style Of Barbie Work?

Barbie Nailed A Comedy Tone That Worked For The Toy Brought To Life

But even beyond the crossover, the concept of making a self-aware movie about this character does have some story potential. Before Barbie hit theaters, the actual contents of the movie were kept тιԍнтly under wraps. No one really knew what to expect, and the genius marketing ensured that the film was intriguing to a wide variety of audiences, even if the movie was plastered in pink, and about a doll that was primarily made to appeal to young girls.

But the way Gerwig handled the character turned the concept into an elaborate comedy that questioned the intention behind the doll, and the resulting good and bad that was done by it made it a must-watch movie. In a similar way, Max Steel was designed to try and target young boys in the early 2000s, and it doubled down on what it thought a boy should like and want to play with. Max Steel is an action hero with weapons, vehicles, huge pets, and he is constantly in danger. Having this character recognize the flaws in its design, and begin to question that could be a perfect companion story for Barbie.

There’s Already A Max Steel Movie, But It’s Nowhere Near As Good As Barbie

Max Steel Could Use A Makeover After The 2016 Movie Flop

Perhaps one issue that could arise in trying to make a Max Steel movie to follow on from Barbie is the fact that there was already a movie made about it. Not just the kids’ animated movies that were made for video and DVD either, but an actual, feature-length, live-action movie starring a talented cast of actors. The movie came out in 2016, and it was a box office bomb that failed to get any positive attention. This is evidently a night and day story compared with Barbie, but it does potentially mean that moviemakers will be less keen to approach such a project.

Undoubtedly, the marketing for Barbie was a much larger effort, but the truth is, Barbie has always been a much bigger franchise than other dolls and action figures on the market. The universality of the product made it the perfect candidate for Gerwig’s film, and the results speak for themselves. However, if Max Steel is given the chance to get a similar film made, with a clear indication that it is a follow-up to Barbie, then it could have the potential to be a real hit. Max Steel could be a great Mattel sequel to Barbie, but there is a lot standing in the way of its success.