Entertainment
Daniel Kaluuya’s Barney live-action film will focus on ‘Millennial angst’ and we can all relate-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro
This sounds deep, guys.
Daniel Kaluuya is not messing around when it comes to the live-action Barney movie in development (Picture: Momodu Mansaray/WireImage)
The Barney live-action movie in development will focus on ‘Millennial angst’ it has been revealed, it what sounds like an unexpected but very promising update.
Barney, a large and friendly anthropomorphic purple dinosaur, was a big hit with kids of the 90s and noughties as the lead on US show Barney & Friends, which aired on PBS and internationally from 1992 to 2010.
Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon has now given a hint of what to expect when Nope star Daniel Kaluuya brings the beloved purple dino to the big screen, and the team want to take an interesting approach.
‘We’re leaning into the Millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,’ McKeon explained.
‘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, growing up with Barney—just the level of disenchantment within the generation.’
Well, colour us (purple) intrigued!
Barney was the star of TV show Barney & Friends, which ran from 1992 to 2010 (Picture: Mark Perlstein/Getty Images)
Oscar-winner Kaluuya’s production company is working alongside Mattel Films for the project, and he’s aiming for ‘poignant but optimistic’ (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
‘It would be so daring of us, and really underscore that we’re here to make art,’ he added to The New Yorker magazine.
Oscar-winner Kaluuya previously opened up on his desire to bring Barney to the bring screen in a live-action format and revealed how he wanted to focus on the poignant aspect of the character.
He told Entertainment Weekly back in 2020: ‘Barney taught us, “I love you, you love me. Won’t you say you love me too?”
‘That’s one of the first songs I remember, and what happens when that isn’t true? I thought that was really heartbreaking. I have no idea why but it feels like that makes sense.
‘It feels like there’s something unexpected that can be poignant but optimistic. Especially at this time now, I think that’s really, really needed.’
It’s safe to say this is likely to be a totally different beast to the previous Barney film made for theatrical release, 1998’s Barney’s Great Adventure, which starred Trevor Morgan and Kyla Pratt alongside Barney.
Sadly, it was a box office bomb, grossing only $12million against its original budget of $15m, so we can also hope that Kaluuya’s Barney fares better too.
Emphasising Mattel’s goal, CEO Ynon Kreitz recently insisted the team are not focused on the idea of using films like Barbie, which is one of the most highly anticipated films of the year, to create more sales.
He shared with Time magazine: ‘It’s not about making movies so that we can go and sell more toys. We’ve been doing well selling toys without movies.’
Mattel is also making big moves with the Barbie movie, which comes out later this month (Picture: Warner Bros Pictures via AP)
He noted that the firm is changing from ‘a toy-manufacturing company’ into one that is firmly in the franchise business.
It was previously revealed that Richard Dickson, COO and president of Mattel, actually flew to London during the filming of Barbie to ‘argue’ with star and producer Margot Robbie and director Greta Gerwig about a scene.
Dickson had concerns the scene was ‘off brand’ but changed his mind once they acted it out for him.
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