Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | February 25, 2025
Ayo Edebiri, the decade’s golden girl and multiple award-winning writer-actor, has the world at her feet. She could and can do anything, whether it’s sweeping the Emmys with The Bear, writing for beloved comedies like What We Do in the Shadows, or ruling over her homeland of Ireland with a benevolent grasp. Coming up next, she has movies with James L. Brooks and Luca Guadagnino, and now she’s collaborating with another legend of culture: Barney.
According to Variety, Edebiri is set to write the screenplay for the live-action Barney, which is being developed and produced by A24 (yes, really) and Daniel Kaluuya (again, yes, really.) She’s also in talks to star in the project. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The post-Barbie rush to develop even more nostalgic favourites and IPs for the big screen was always going to be weird. But it continues to truly baffle me that Academy Award-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya is so thoroughly dedicated to making a Barney movie. This guy has been attached to this project for YEARS. People drop out of projects like this all the time (see Lena Dunham and the Polly Pocket movie.) Kaluuya, though, is committed to his prehistoric buddy. He’s an actor who doesn’t work that often, only taking on projects he feels are important to him. His last live-action acting credit was for Nope in 2022. The only other thing on his upcoming section of IMDb is the next Spider-Verse film. Kaluuya and Barney mean business.
Getting Edebiri on board, a writer and actress with the world at her feet, certainly feels like a big step. Again, after Barbie, it’s the new norm for even the proudest indie auteurs to take a risk. That can be both intriguing and kinda depressing because frankly, I’d rather see the original works these people come up with. But I’m also undeniably fascinated by what drew Kaluuya to Barney. Why is he so eager to make this movie? What is his vision? What does A24 want from it? And how does Edebiri, whose millennial melancholy and silliness have made her famous, fit into it?
In fairness to Edebiri, if Kaluuya looked straight into my eyes and asked me to do something, I’d find it hard to say no. Now I’m just imagining Bottoms with Barney. Or The Bear with Carmy Barney. Limitless possibilities, kids.
