Live-action Barney movie to star and be written by The Bear's Ayo Edebiri

A movie based on the hit American children's television series Barney & Friends is in the works, with A24, Mattel Films and 59% producing.

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I love you, you love me. Guess who just got Ayo Edebiri? American entertainment outlet Variety has reported that actress-writer Ayo Edebiri, known for her role in the critically acclaimed series The Bear, will write and is in talks to star in the upcoming live-action Barney The Dinosaur movie.

Edebiri has won numerous awards for the role of Sydney in The Bear, including an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Based on the popular children's series Barney & Friends starring a purple anthropomorphic Tyrannosaurus rex, the movie will be produced by A24, Mattel Films and 59% – a production company formed by Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya.

Details about the Barney movie are still sparse. Variety has also reported that despite producing it, Kaluuya will not star in the movie.

In a 2023 interview with The New Yorker, Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon said that the Barney movie will be "leaning into the millennial angst" of the franchise.

"It’s really a play for adults," said McKeon. "Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being 30-something, growing up with Barney – just the level of disenchantment within the generation."