Daniel Kaluuya explains why his live-action adaptation of Barney is so "poignant" right now

(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Daniel Kaluuya shot to fame in Jordan Peele’s 2017 horror Get Out, and has since starred in hits like Black Panther and Queen & Slim. It’s understandable, then, that we were all a little bit confused when it was announced that Kaluuya would produce a live-action Barney movie with Mattel.

If that news wasn’t enough to get you scratching your head, his recent comments about the film will do the trick. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Kaluuya said: “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?”

He added, “I thought that was really heartbreaking. 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.”

Kaluuya is definitely right that we could all use some optimism right now, and we’re intrigued as to how poignant and heart-breaking Barney can be.

This isn’t the first time Kaluuya has shared some strange info on his Barney movie. Last year, Kaluuya said: “Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood.”

Kaluuya’s statements on the project so far might raise more questions than answers, and we’ll probably be waiting a while for more details on the project – so far, the film has no release date, and no members of the cast have been announced.

While we wait for this mysterious Barney movie to materialise, check out our list of the must-see movies still coming to cinemas in 2020.

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.