The Bear and Opus star Ayo Edebiri is in talks to write and possibly headline A24’s long gestating Barney the Dinosaur movie for Mattel.
It has been over five years since news of a Daniel Kaluuya produced Barney movie broke online, in which time Barbie has grossed her billions, and numerous other big-screen boardgame adaptations have been announced.
Now, according to Deadline the project is beginning to roar back into life with the Emmy and Golden Globe winner being brought onboard to pen the screenplay and reportedly star. Academy Award winning Kaluuya will still produce under his 59% Productions banner.
First airing on PBS in 1992, Barney became a staple part of children’s educational development, using his overt optimism and simple songs to raise a generation of kids, before the show came to an end in 2010. It’s thought that the A24 effort will be more daring, with a grittier edge, with previous reports suggesting that it would focus on the generation who grew up with Barney, and how their lives have changed thirty-years down the road.
Until Barney ambles onto the big-screen, Mattel are still being kept busy with the likes of the live-action Masters of the Universe movie, the John Cena-headlined Matchbox movie, and the J.J. Abrams produced Hot Wheels film.
Let us know whether Edebiri’s involvement makes you eager to see Barney by heading to our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
