Walking around London this weekend sometimes felt like arriving in Barbieland – every other bus stop in the city appears to have been taken over with ads for Greta Gerwig’s take on the iconic and flawed plastic doll.
Though it’s among the most talked-about films of the year, it’s by no means the only one tackling toys made by Mattel – according to the New Yorker, the company is plotting scores of future projects that explore everything from the Magic 8 Ball to the American Girl doll. Thirteen films have been announced, with 45 in total in various stages of development.
“Some of the projects have an ouroboros quality,” the New Yorker reports. “Tom Hanks is supposed to star in Major Matt Mason, which will be based on an astronaut action figure that has been largely forgotten, except for the fact that it helped inspire Buzz Lightyear – one of the protagonists of Pixar’s Toy Story franchise.”
The feature also reveals that Barbie director Greta Gerwig “has a deal with Netflix to write and direct at least two films based on CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia”
Elsewhere Mattel’s Kevin McKeon expanded on what to expect from possibly the most intriguing new project to come – Daniel Kaluuya’s live-action film about the giant purple dinosaur Barney. The actor – known for films including Get Out, Black Panther, and Queen & Slim – has been attached to the project since 2020, but until now, little more has been known about how on earth he might approach such a bizarre meeting of worlds.
Comparing the Barney project’s “surrealistic” feel to the works of directors Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, McKeon said: “We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids.”
“It’s really a play for adults,” he continues. “Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being thirtysomething, growing up with Barney – just the level of disenchantment within the generation.”
He added that he had sold the idea to potential partners as a “A24-type” film – referencing the artsy company behind films like Moonlight, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Midsommar, Uncut Gems, and Lady Bird.
Kaluuya has not offered his own update, but previously told Entertainment Weekly: “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. 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.”
In other words, the whole endevour sounds like a strange, existential nightmare, narrated by a giant, stuffed-toy T-Rex. Sign me up.
