Daniel Kaluuya is currently producing a ‘heartbreaking’ film based on the iconic children’s television series character Barney the Dinosaur, and the actor recently gave an update on the film’s status.
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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kaluuya spoke briefly about the film, which is being worked on at his production company 59%. According to Kaluuya, the film is still very early in development but has not been abandoned since it was initially teased two years ago.
“My last number of films have been so aligned to kind of what I stand for as a man,” explained Kaluuya. “But there are a whole lot of things that I do as a man. I love kids’ films. How did everyone get into films? Watching kids’ films. I don’t want to restrict myself to the limitations of what I’m perceived as.”
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Unlike the original television series which sees Barney teaching children about love and compassion, this film is said to be more “heartbreaking.”
“Barney taught us, ‘I love you, you love me. Won’t you say you love me too?’ That’s one of the first songs I remember, and what happens when that isn’t true? I thought that was really heartbreaking,” Kaluuya said in a 2020 interview with EW about the project. “I have no idea why but it feels like that makes sense. It feels like there’s something unexpected that can be poignant but optimistic. Especially at this time now, I think that’s really, really needed.”
Barney & Friends originally premiered on PBS in 1992 and ran for 14 seasons, quickly becoming one of the biggest and most iconic children’s television series of all time in the process. Outside of Kaluuya’s upcoming project, a three-part documentary on the history of the character and television series is set to premiere later this year on Peacock.
