Remember Barney? He was the giant purple dinosaur from Barney & Friends who sung “I love you, you love me.” I don’t know about you, but as a child, Barney gave me the creeps – and now Get Out star Daniel Kaluuya is giving him his own live-action movie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kaluuya is working with Mattel Films on the Barney movie which sounds like an unexpectedly ‘gritty’ take. “Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood,” Kaluuya said.
“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.”
We’re still talking about a giant purple dinosaur, right?
I’m not the only one who thinks Kaluuya might be trolling us with his Barney movie idea. Twitter users have taken to the social media platform to express their concern and confusion.
As much as Barney seems like an unlikely silver screen hero, he’s not the only fictional childhood character being revived for the sake of film. Other Mattel properties including Hot Wheels, Masters of the Universe, and Barbie (featuring our very own Margot Robbie) are all in development.
“Working with Daniel Kaluuya will enable us to take a completely new approach to Barney that will surprise audiences and subvert expectations,” Mattel Films’ Robbie Brenner told THR. “The project will speak to the nostalgia of the brand in a way that will resonate with adults, while entertaining today’s kids.”
“Barney is a dinosaur from our imagination, and we can’t wait to get ‘I love you, you love me,’ stuck in heads everywhere, yet again,” Valparaiso Pictures’ founder David Carrico said.
![Barney I Love You Song [Best Original HQ]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Uq734_nZ7Eo/hqdefault.jpg)
I’m going to have to disagree on that one and say I’m quite happy to never hear that repetitive song ever again. Who knows what Kaluuya’s Barney movie is going to be like – looks like we’re just going to have to wait and see.