Ayo Edebiri to Write and Star in A24’s ‘Barney’ Movie

The saga of the long-developing Barney movie has another twist, and a new star: The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri.

According to Variety, the Emmy-winning actress will star in and also write the screenplay for the Barney movie, based on the long-running children’s TV series about the imaginary purple dinosaur.

And, in another twist, the film is also being produced by A24, who are generally not in the market of making children’s movies — at least not simplistic or wholesome ones like the original Barney and Friends series that aired on PBS all through the 1990s and into the 2000s before it finally got canceled.

On the show, a plush Barney doll would transform into the giant talking and singing purple dinosaur, and lead kids on adventures (and sing songs, including his ear worm theme, “I Love You” which you probably have stuck in your head now just from reading the title.)

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For years, actor Daniel Kaluuya has been attached to a Barney movie — one that, executives said in interviews, would “be unique” in the world of toy-based films. (The same executive compared that concept to Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, of all things.) Variety claims Kaluuya is involved in the latest Barney concept but only as a producer.

When Kaluyya first got involved in the Barney movie, he gave this quote:

Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood. We’re excited to explore this compelling modern-day hero and see if his message of ‘I love you, you love me’ can stand the test of time.

What does an A24 Barney movie from Ayo Edebiri and Daniel Kaluuya even look like? The mind boggles at the very notion.

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