Mattel’s ‘Barney’ Film Starring Daniel Kaluuya To Be Adult-Focused, “A24-Type” Effort, Says Exec

The forthcoming Barney film from Mattel Films to be produced by and star Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya will be an adult-oriented, “A24-type” project, executive Kevin McKeon has revealed.

His comments came as part of an interview with The New Yorker, surrounding the launch of Mattel’s big summer release, Barbie, in which McKeon added that the Kaluuya-led feature will be “surrealistic,” in the vein of films by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze.

“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” shared the exec. “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.”

Taking the tale of the talking purple dinosaur in this direction underscores that Mattel is “here to make art,” McKeon said. Kaluuya attached himself to the project in 2019, sharing in an interview with Yahoo UK earlier this month that it remains in development given the “high standards” he sets for his efforts as both an actor and a producer.

The Kaluuya-led Barney pic is just one forthcoming project centered on the character, who is getting a new animated series from Mattel set for release in 2024. Bringing a more adult feel to his world, initially established in the ’90s PBS series Barney & Friends, would be in keeping with the approach to the forthcoming Barbie film, directed by Greta Gerwig, a clearly left-of-center take on the beloved doll which with its first trailer paid unexpected homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Warner Bros film out July 21 is said to follow Barbie (Margot) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) as they depart the utopian Barbie Land for the real world, on a journey of self-discovery. Gerwig and Noah Baumbach penned the script, with Robbie and Tom Ackerley producing under their LuckyChap Entertainment banner, alongside Mattel’s Robbie Brenner and Heyday Films’ David Heyman. LuckyChap’s Josey McNamara and Mattel’s Ynon Kreiz served as executive producers.