Daniel Kaluuya’s ‘Barney’ film will reportedly be a “surrealistic” movie “for adults”

5 July, 2023

Following Barbie, Mattel’s next film will focus on the brand’s beloved purple dinosaur, Barney.

Said Barney film will see Get Out and Nope‘s Daniel Kaluuya serve as a producer, with the actor previously saying via a press statement: “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.”

While it unclear if Kaluuya will also star in the film, a Mattel Film executive has newly revealed in an interview with the New Yorker that the movie will take on a “surrealistic” approach geared towards adults.

“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” Mattel Films exec Kevin McKeon said about the Barney movie. “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.”

Little else is known about the Barney film, except that it has been in the works since 2019, and was most recently being reworked in July 2022, per a Consequence report.

For now, however, Mattel is focusing on Greta Gerwig‘s Barbie, which is set to release on July 21 in the UK, with a runtime of 114 minutes. It stars Margot Robbie in the titular role, with Ryan Gosling as Ken.

Barbie has received a 12A classification rating in the UK, meaning only kids above the age of 12 can watch the movie unaccompanied. Anyone below the age of 12 has to be accompanied by an adult. Reasons for the film’s 12A classification are the film’s supposed use of “moderate innuendo”, “brief sexual harassment”, “violence”, “dangerous behaviour” and more.

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