‘Barney’ movie starring Daniel Kaluuya is a “surreal, A24-type” film
An executive at the giant toy company Mattel will follow up on Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, with a number of other films featuring their iconic toys, including Barney the Dinosaur.
There are more than a dozen Mattel toy films in the works, and Daniel Kaluuya is set to star in a Barney movie. He first became attached to the project in 2019, and it is said to remain in development.
Kevin McKeon recently told The New Yorker that the Barney movie is going to be a “surreal” experience that draws on the work of Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jonze and the production company A24.
“We’re leaning into the Millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” McKeon 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 30-something.”
He continued: “Growing up with Barney—just the level of disenchantment within the generation. It would be so daring of us, and really underscore that we’re here to make art.”
When the film was first announced in 2019, Robbie Brenner of Mattel Films said that getting Kaluuya on board would enable the company to “take a completely new approach to Barney that will surprise audiences and subvert expectations.”
Kaluuya himself added: “Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood. We’re excited to explore this compelling modern-day hero and see if his message of ‘I love you, you love me’ can stand the test of time.”
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