A live-action Barney movie is in development from Daniel Kaluuya and Mattel

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Not having the ease of access to the internet and its plethora of content that youngins have today, getting your entertainment as a kid once meant plopping yourself down in front of the TV and watching actors dance around as anthropomorphic animals. Many kids in the 90s saw the purple T-Rex Barney as the king of them all, and Oscar nominee Daniel Kaluuya (GET OUT, BLACK PANTHER) would consider himself part of that group. Now the actor is teaming with toy company Mattel to bring the big dino back to the screen by developing a new, live-action movie so adults can show their kids what being a child once looked like. 

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Kaluuya issued a statement (via Deadline), citing his own fondness of the character when he was kid, believing his positive attitude is something kids need just as much now as back in the 90s.

“Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood,” he said. “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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The original BARNEY & FRIENDS series started in 1992 and ran for 14 seasons and over 260 episodes until it ended in 2009. The singing and dancing dinosaur became a smash hit with children during his run on TV, branching out into live concert shows. tours and movies that didn't quite have the same impact as the show did. There have been attempts to revive the show over the years, but nothing has materialized beyond talks.  

Kaluuya and partners Rowan Riley and Amandla Crichlow will co-produce the movie with Mattel Films and Valparaiso Pictures through their 59% banner. This is yet another movie Mattel is adding to their slate based on their vast library of IP, already making plans for BARBIE with Margot Robbie and an upcoming HOT WHEELS movie. Mattel Films' Robbie Brenner also issued a statement, hinting Kaluuya will bring something unexpected to the character that will capitalize on nostalgia in adults who now have kids of their own. 

“Working with Daniel Kaluuya will enable us to take a completely new approach to ‘Barney’ that will surprise audiences and subvert expectations,” said Robbie Brenner of Mattel Films. “The project will speak to the nostalgia of the brand in a way that will resonate with adults, while entertaining today’s kids.”

This is not exactly the kind of news you expect to wake up to in the morning, and I understand if many of you clicked on this while saying "Wait, what?" through sleepy, delirious eyes. Barney, though popular and had a fan in yours truly during his youngest years, doesn't have quite the status as the likes of the SESAME STREET gang or the Muppets, so how a movie pans out and is responded to by new audiences will be interesting to see play out. Children will either respond wonderfully or be confused and wonder why that dinosaur isn't chasing around Chris Pratt.

Kaluuya will next be seen in QUEEN & SLIM, which hits theaters November 27.