A24‘s live-action Barney movie wants The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri to apply the power of her imagination to the studio’s long-gestating adaptation of the friendly purple dinosaur. The project hails from Mattel Films and Daniel Kaluuya’s 59% Productions, with Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ayo Edebiri in talks to write and star in the feature.
Daniel Kaluuya’s live-action Barney movie first made headlines in 2019, and there have been few updates since. The film’s plot remains a mystery, but that hasn’t kept rumors from manifesting in a magical forest and making their way to our ears, including a horror movie plot showing children’s programming’s dark side. Kevin McKeon and Andrew Scannell oversee the project for Mattel Films, with Robbie Brenner producing for Mattel, along with A24 and Kaluuya and Rowan Riley for 59% Productions.
In 2023, Mattel executive Kevin McKeon told The New Yorker the adult-oriented live-action Barney movie would be “surrealistic,” and similar in tone to films presented by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze.
“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” the executive said. “It’s really a play for adults. Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being thirtysomething, growing up with Barney—just the level of disenchantment within the generation.”
Months later, McKeon adjusted his tone, saying the live-action Barney movie would take a “fresh approach” to the beloved character and be “fun, entertaining, and culturally oriented.”
Considering the success of Mattel Films’ Barbie movie from Greta Gerwig, there’s no reason to think the studio couldn’t strike twice with Barney. While the purple dinosaur doesn’t hold the same cultural relevance as Barbie, repositioning the character to deliver a powerful, timely message to mass audiences could take Hollywood by storm. Ayo Edebiri is one of the entertainment industry’s most-watched up-and-coming voices after her powerhouse performance as Sydney Adamu in FX’s The Bear, and her recent role as Ariel Ecton in Mark Anthony Green’s Opus has lots of people talking.
Can Ayo Edebiri bring Barney back significantly? Does the children’s educational program mascot still have mass appeal? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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