Daniel Kaluuya reveals why he's producing a live-action Barney movie

The Oscar-winning actor and his production company 59% have been attached to the Barney movie project since 2019

PUBLISHED JUL 15, 2022

Fans will soon see a live-action Barney movie (Instagram/a_barney_a_day and danielkaluuya)

'Barney & Friends' is a childhood favorite of many, especially the 90s kids. Barney is a friendly purple dinosaur who conveys educational messages through songs and small dance routines. Fans will soon see a live-action Barney movie that is a lot darker than the TV show.

The new movie will be produced by 'Get Out and Nope' star Daniel Kaluuya, who recently revealed why he is making a live-action film on the dinosaur. The veteran actor is known for his simmering intensity and the selection of movies he's acted in stands nowhere close to the genre that he will be producing. Hence, pursuing a project about the singing dinosaur may seem like an odd fit.

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However, Kaluuya and his production company 59% have been attached to the 'Barney' movie project since 2019. The company is co-producing the film alongside Mattel Films, the film production division of the famous toy company. Reportedly, the initial impetus for a new 'Barney' movie was a story centered around unconditional love that was apt for current times.

Work on the script for the new 'Barney' movie is underway. It is going to take a while to bring a good plot to the character and do justice to it. In his interview with 'Collider', Kaluuya said, "My last number of films have been so aligned to kind of what I stand for as a man. But there are a whole lot of things that I do as a man. I love kids’ films. How did everyone get into films? Watching kids’ films. I don’t want to restrict myself to the limitations of what I’m perceived as."

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This project could be a very different route for Daniel Kaluuya and also a challenging task. Daniel also hinted that his 'Barney' movie will be a lot darker than the TV show. 'Barney & Friends' aired on PBS from 1992 to 2009 and was a ubiquitous part of many a childhood, focusing on positivity and unconditional love. Kaluuya also agreed that the show was one of the most memorable parts of his childhood and it will always be close to his heart. Although 'Barney & Friends' has made one big screen appearance in 1998's 'Barney's Big Adventure,' Kaluuya's version is likely to be tonally different, since he certainly isn't bound to take it into "gritty reboot" territory.