Ever wonder what a more mature, existential, and adult-oriented reboot of Barney & Friends would look like? Oh…you haven’t? Well, we’re getting it anyway with the upcoming reimagining, Barney. Even if you’re not a particular fan of the notorious purple dinosaur, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single child of the ’90s and 2000s who wasn’t familiar with Barney & Friends. For an impressive eighteen years on the air, Barney, B.J., Baby Bop, and the rest of the show’s cast members brought educational family fun to millions of children worldwide.
Despite the series ending in 2018, parent company Mattel has been exploring various ways to bring the purple dinosaur back into the public eye, likely due to renewed ambition in film and television following the highly successful Barbie film. The first of these projects was the morbidly titled Peacock documentary series, I Love You, You Hate Me, which explored and debunked many of the viral urban legends surrounding the series. The second came with the announcement of an all-new animated Barney series, which will come complete with a controversial redesign of the iconic character when it arrives in 2024.
The third is one of the strangest additions of all. Announced in 2019, Mattel revealed that a live-action feature film starring Barney was developing. Even more, the film would be produced by Daniel Kaluuya, the Oscar-winning actor and star of Get Out, Black Panther, Judas and the Black Messiah, and more. Information on the project has been relatively slow. However, Mattel and Kaluuya have regularly provided updates to ensure the project is still happening, with the most recent update being one of the most peculiar yet. To learn more about the radical reimagining and its tone, plot, producers, and more, here is everything we know so far about Barney.
Editor’s Note: This piece was updated on November 13, 2023.
Barney Movie
- Main Genre
- family
- Genres
- family, Adventure, Comedy, children
Is There a Release Date for ‘Barney’?
Despite being in development since 2019 and receiving semi-regular updates that the film is still in development, the upcoming Barney movie has not yet received a release date or a release window at the time of this writing. We’ll just have to wait and see when we can reunite with the purple dinosaur.
Where Can You Watch ‘Barney’?
With a release date yet to be revealed, we also don’t currently know what format the upcoming film will be released in. A theatrical release is certainly possible, and actually wouldn’t be the first time Barney has been in theaters. That honor goes to the 1998 feature film, Barney’s Great Adventure. However, Barney’s Great Adventure also ended its box office career as a flop, making only $12 million off of its $15 million budget.
With that in mind, it would also be reasonable to think that Barney might forgo a theatrical release and instead go straight to streaming. Where Barney would make its streaming home if any isn’t set in stone, through the documentary series I Love You, You Hate Me did release as a Peacock exclusive. Even then, Mattel isn’t beholding to one particular studio.
Switching back to theatrical prospects, the likelihood of a theatrical release for Barney may depend entirely on how another high-profile Mattel adaptation does at the box office. Following a massive marketing campaign, Barbie is expected to be a big winner at the box office, with director Greta Gerwig‘s feature film becoming one of the most anticipated films of the year. Mattel has also expressed interest in bringing some of their other franchises to the big screen as well, such as the hugely popular Hot Wheels IP.
Is There a Trailer for ‘Barney’?
With no release date and major cast set at this time, Barney likely won’t begin production and filming for quite some time. That means Barney fans are going to have to be patient before we get a first look at the new version of the purple dinosaur in a proper trailer.
Who Stars in ‘Barney’?
The main cast for Barney has not yet been revealed. Despite Daniel Kaluuya, an Oscar-winning actor, being attached to produce, it has yet to be confirmed whether the Nope star will have an acting role in the film, be it as a supporting human character or as the titular dinosaur himself.
What Is ‘Barney’ About?
Plot details surrounding Barney have been fairly light but in a recent update from producer Kevin McKeon, we got to learn a bit more about what Mattel has in store for the purple dinosaur’s next feature film, and It’s certainly not what we expected:
“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 30-something, growing up with Barney—just the level of disenchantment within the generation. It would be so daring of us, and really underscore that we’re here to make art.”
Much like Barbie it sounds like the new Barney film will be doing what many IP-based feature films are doing today and be a meta-commentary. As highlighted in the recent Peacock documentary, Barney as a character has a history of being mocked and ridiculed to the point of unfairness. It sounds like that’s something that Kaluuya, McKeon, and Mattel want to explore in this new iteration of the character. At the same time, it doesn’t sound like they want to go too gritty and adult either. Overall it sounds like a fairly similar approach to the 2009 adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, which looked at the children’s story from a more existential and mature approach while still being appropriate for families and younger audiences.
Who Is Making ‘Barney’?
Much like the cast, the crew attached to the Barney movie is something of a mystery. While we do know that Daniel Kaluuya and Kevin McKeon will be producing, the film has yet to attach a director, writer, etc.
Are There Any Other ‘Barney’ Projects in Development?
Image via Mattel
The Barney movie is only one part of Mattel’s alleged plan to bring back the Barney IP through other mediums. In 2024, an animated series is set to appeal to the dinosaur’s core age group of younger children, with a title still yet to be disclosed. Already available on Peacock is the documentary series discussing the many just and unjust controversies surrounding the still-culturally relevant show.
