After Barbie, Mattel is ready to bring out all the big guns in the playhouse. The toy manufacturer has revealed a total of 45 toy-based movies in the works, including (but not limited to) Barney, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, Uno, and Masters of the Universe.
A deep-dive by The New Yorker reported that only 13 of these projects have been publicly announced, with American Girl, Magic 8 Ball, Major Matt Mason, Matchbox, Polly Pocket, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Uno, and View-Master rounding out the list. While the movies are set to produced by different companies, Mattel’s in-house Mattel Films will be taking the lead on every one.
One of the more unconventional entries in the pipeline is Barney, which will be produced by Daniel Kaluuya, best known for his work on Get Out and Nope. According to Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon, it will take on a more adult-oriented approach and have an “A24-type” quality.
“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” McKeon said. “It’s really a play for adults. 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.”
The same mature tone will also be carried over to Hot Wheels 0, which director J.J. Abrams describes as “emotional and grounded and gritty.” It’s not cast in stone, however, as a script has yet to materialise.
If Barbie turns out to be box office hit, then it sets the rest of the films up for equal success. The Gerta Gerwig-led movie is releasing on 20 July, and stars Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken — here’s everything you need to know about it.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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