Ayo Edebiri To Write Barney Movie For Mattel And A24
The live-action Barney movie from Mattel and A24 has now attached Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) to write and potentially star in the project. In a report from Deadline, she will ing the movie which is currently being produced by Daniel Kaluuya through his production company 59% Productions.
Barney became a worldwide phenomenon with the series Barney & Friends, which aired for 14 seasons on PBS between 1992 and 2010. The film, which apparently looks to take Barney into darker territory, was first announced back in 2019 and currently has Robbie Brenner producing for Mattel along with Kaluuya and Rowan Riley for 59% Productions.
When talking with The New Yorker in 2023, Mattel exec Kevin McKeon revealed that the live-action Barnie would be surreal and adult-oriented, in the vein of films from Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman. McKeon went on to say, “we’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids. 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.”
Having recently voiced Envy in the last year’s Inside Out 2, Edebiri continues to be one of the in-demand young talents. She is best known for her role as Sydney in FX’s The Bear but has also started to share capabilities behind the camera as well after receiving a DGA Award nomination for her directorial debut in Season 3 of the show. She has also take up writing with notable work on shows such as What We Do in the Shadows and Dickinson.
Edebiri can be next seen in the A24 thriller Opus which will be released in UK cinemas on March 14th.
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