Ayo Edebiri came up with her pitch for the upcoming Barney movie while on a month-long trip to Asia.

The Bear star, who was tapped to write a movie about the big purple dinosaur in February, revealed to The Wall Street Journal that the idea came to her during a much-needed holiday.

“I went on a trip to Asia for a month. I felt like that girl who takes a gap year. That’s where I ended up coming up with the idea for Barney that I ended up pitching to Daniel,” she said, referring to the film’s producer Daniel Kaluuya.

The British actor was revealed to be a producer on the project when it was first announced back in 2019.

Edebiri added, “I was just thinking of, what are the movies that I want to make? What are the things that I want to do? What are the things that make me excited? So I just had this idea, and then we started building it out together. And then it becomes what it’s going to be, which I don’t want to say too much about.”

In addition to writing, the Bottoms actress is also in talks to star in the movie, which is based on the children’s TV show Barney & Friends.

While details are being kept under wraps, Mattel Films Vice President Kevin McKeon previously divulged that the live-action Barney film will be adult-oriented, “surrealistic”, and in the same vein as Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze’s features.

“We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids,” he told The New Yorker in 2023. “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.”

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