Ayo Edebiri To Write — And Possibly Star In — A24’s Live-Action Barney Movie

Barney is a dinosaur from our imagination, and soon he’ll be — oh, let’s just see — a live-action film sensation. That’s right millennials, zillennials, and purple dinosaur lovers of all ages, that A24 Barney movie that was announced way back when in 2019 is still happening, and it looks like the team behind the film have found the woman to write the magenta Mattel legend’s huge screen debut. Per Deadline‘s reporting, The Bear and Opus actor Ayo Edebiri has been brought aboard to write — and possibly star in — the long-gestating film.

Set up as a co-production between A24, Mattel Films, and Daniel Kaluuya’s 59% Productions banner, the as-yet-untitled Barney movie is not, you will be delighted/dismayed to learn, being pitched as a faithful recreation of the hit 90s/early 00s kids’ TV staple Barney & Friends. Rather, the plan seems to be to follow in Barbie‘s footsteps by taking the globally recognised brand name and iconography and putting it to more high concept apply. Back in 2023, Mattel executive Kevin McKeon talked the project up as a “surrealistic” endeavour, an adult-orientated film in the Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman mould that will “focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being thirtysomething, growing up with Barney — just the level of disenchantment within the generation.” At the same time, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz went on record weeks later to say the film would “not be an odd movie.” That, we heavily suspect, may not be the case though — especially given Edebiri’s propensity for quirky/off-kilter comedy.

As of yet, we have no idea who’ll be directing Barney, who’ll be starring in Barney, what Barney will be about, or even if Barney will look like the fuchsian fossil-dodger we all know and love. But with Emmy and Golden Globe winner Edebiri handling the script, A24 and Daniel Kaluuya creatively overlooking the project, and stimulating buzzwords like “Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman”, “thirtysomething”, and “disenchantment” being bandied about, it’s unthreatening to say we are all in on this already. Super-Dee-Duper!