A24’s live-action Barney movie has tapped actress Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) to write the screenplay, and she’s also in talks to star. Daniel Kaluuya was original set to lead the film, but no word yet if his role has been scrapped with Edebiri entering the picture — he does remain as producer via his 59% Productions.
Yes, a “Barney” movie is being made. The kooky purple-coloured dinosaur, who swore by the mantra of “I love you and you love me,” is being turned into a movie. The character broke out as a global sensation with the series “Barney & Friends,” which aired for 14 seasons on PBS between 1992 and 2010.
In a 2024 New Yorker piece tackling Mattel’s splash into the film industry, one exec described A24’s upcoming ‘Barney’ movie as “surrealistic” and not unlike the work of “Adaptation” and “Being John Malkovich” duo Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze.
“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” the executive said at the time. “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.”
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.