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Director Greta Gerwig and actress Margot Robbie's absence from the 2024 Oscar nominations for their film Barbie has left many disappointed and raised questions about sexism in the industry. Despite this, Gerwig remains optimistic about the film's success and looks forward to her upcoming projects.

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Barbie, which grossed over $1.4 billion worldwide, was a global hit and the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman. At the 2024 Oscars, it received a total of 8 nominations, including Best Picture, Ryan Gosling for Best Supporting Actor, America Ferrera for Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design and Production Design.

But director Greta Gerwig was overlooked in favour of Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest), Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things), Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), and Martin Scorsese (Killers of the Flower Moon) for Best Direction Oscar.

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And, Margot Robbie was overlooked in favour of Annette Bening (Nyad), Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Sandra Hüller, (Anatomy of a Fall), Carey Mulligan (Maestro), and Emma Stone (Poor Things).

Gerwig, while disappointed about Robbie's snub, expressed her happiness for the film's overall performance and the recognition it received at the 96th Academy Awards.

In an interview with Time, Gerwig shared her thoughts on the Oscar snub, saying, "Of course, I wanted it for Margot. But I'm just happy we all get to be there together."

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She highlighted the support she has received from friends and fans, emphasising that she did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

"A friend’s mom said to me, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t get nominated.’ I said, ‘But I did. I got an Oscar nomination.’ She was like, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful for you!’ I was like, ‘I know!’,” she added, referring to her nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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Looking ahead, Gerwig is excited about her next projects, two Chronicles of Narnia movies for Netflix. She revealed that she had been working on the Narnia project for a long time and had written a draft of it before directing Barbie. She described her attraction to the "euphorically dreamlike" quality of CS Lewis' writing, noting the combination of folklore and different traditions in his work.

She said, “It’s connected to the folklore and fairy stories of England, but it’s a combination of different traditions. As a child, you accept the whole thing—that you’re in this land of Narnia, there’s fauns, and then Father Christmas shows up. It doesn’t even occur to you that it’s not schematic. I’m interested in embracing the paradox of the worlds that Lewis created, because that’s what’s so compelling about them.”