Ayo Edebiri is adding another major project to her already packed schedule. This time, she’s writing a live-action Barney film for A24, with talks of her starring in it as well.
Produced by A24 and Daniel Kaluuya’s 59% Productions alongside Mattel Films, the project has been floating around since 2019 but is finally taking shape. Kaluuya, originally rumoured to star, will now serve as an executive producer. Plot details are still under wraps, but if past comments from Mattel are anything to go by, this won’t be the same Barney & Friends kids grew up with.
Mattel previously teased that the film would take a “completely new approach” and “subvert expectations”, though they’ve since walked back suggestions that it’ll have the surrealist, A24-style edge that was speculated in 2023. Whatever direction they take, it’s safe to assume this won’t just be a purple dinosaur dancing around singing I Love You. I mean, I just looked back on the theme song and one can only imagine the ways of subverting it.
This is just the latest addition to Edebiri’s unstoppable run. Already in 2025, she’s directed the music video for Clairo’s Terrapin and is starring in A24’s upcoming psychological horror Opus, set to drop in April.
Meanwhile, Mattel is continuing its post-Barbie movie spree, developing films based on the American Girl Dolls, View-Master, and a JJ Abrams-directed Hot Wheels film. The company is also behind a CGI Barney reboot that launched on Max in 2024, though they’ve confirmed that the live-action film will follow a completely different storyline.
For now, all eyes are on what Edebiri will bring to Barney. Will it be a nostalgic reimagining or something completely unhinged? My guess is on the latter. Either way, this is certainly not going to be your typical kids’ movie.
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