Daniel Kaluuya’s got a left turn planned for his career. After starring in horror movie Get Out and thriller movie Widows, he’s trying to avoid being typecast in filmmaking. His plan? Barney the Dinosaur movie.
The family movie was first revealed back in 2019, with 59%, Kaluuya’s production company, attached. We haven’t heard much since, but given Kaluuya’s been winning Academy Awards, we know he’s been busy. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he confirmed it’s all still in motion, with a script rework in progress. He explains his connection to the original TV series, with the song ‘I Love You’, and wanting to embrace a more childlike style of creativity.
“My last number of films have been so aligned to kind of what I stand for as a man. But there are a whole lot of things that I do as a man,” he says. “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.”
Going from the MCU, where he was part of Black Panther, to the big purple dinosaur isn’t a huge stretch. A drama movie like Judas and the Black Messiah, tackling hefty racial politics, to some children’s television? That’s a leap.
Then again, maybe that’s what makes him the ideal person for such a production. He’s got a well-rounded understanding of the studio system, and he knows how to maneuver difficult subjects for general audiences. No other names are attached to Barney the Dinosaur yet, but we’ll keep you informed,
In the meantime, you can check out Kaluuya in Nope, coming to theatres July 22 in US, and August 12 in the UK.