It’s been a decade since the syrupy strains of “I love you, you love me” left the airwaves, along with the popular purple dinosaur that made the ditty famous.
Now, acclaimed actor Daniel Kaluuya, of Get Out and Black Panther fame, will be bringing Barney the dinosaur back. Under the auspices of his production company, 59%, Kaluuya will be one of the producers of a new movie based on the popular Mattel plush toy, the Daily Beast reports.
“Barney was a ubiquitous figure in many of our childhoods, then he disappeared into the shadows, left misunderstood,” Kaluuya, who will soon do a star turn in the eagerly anticipated film Queen & Slim, told the Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
The plushy purple dinosaur made his TV debut with the 1992 launch of Barney & Friends.
Barney’s entrance onto the big screen, backed by Mattel Films, will mark yet another Mattel toy gone Hollywood, with Barney joining such iconic figures as Barbie, Hot Wheels and He-Man, Master of the Universe, per the Daily Beast.
“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.”
The project has yet to have a studio attached to it, but get ready to have your aural senses bombarded once again with Barney’s ubiquitous “I Love You,” a theme song equally beloved—and, yes, hated—by many.
“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,” co-producer David Carrico of Valparaiso Pictures told THR.