Somewhere in Hollywood, somebody looked at the enormous catalogue of superheroes, sequels, reboots and cinematic universes currently in development and thought, you know what audiences really need? A caveman. And not just any caveman either.
Bamm-Bamm Rubble.
Yes, that tiny blonde-haired toddler who spent much of his childhood casually smashing things with a club is apparently all grown up and preparing for his own live-action movie. And strangely enough, Ryan Gosling is one of the people helping make it happen. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. is developing a new live-action Flintstones movie. The movie will be centred around an adult Bamm-Bamm, with Gosling and Jessie Henderson producing through their Open Invite company. The project remains in very early development and they’re currently searching for a writer.
Now before everyone starts picturing Ryan Gosling wearing animal skins and shouting “Bamm-Bamm!”, let’s clear something up. Gosling hasn’t signed on to play him. At least not yet. Although after watching him turn Ken into one of Barbie’s funniest characters, I’m not entirely convinced Hollywood couldn’t talk him into it. But Bamm-Bamm is actually a rather interesting choice.
When most people hear The Flintstones, they immediately think of Fred sliding down that dinosaur at the quarry. Wilma shouting “Freeeed!”, Barney laughing or somebody ordering an enormous rack of ribs that tips over the family car. Bamm-Bamm was never really the centre of the story. He arrived as the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble and became famous for possessing ridiculous superhuman strength despite being small enough to require supervision around furniture.
The franchise has explored an older Bamm-Bamm before. The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show turned him and Pebbles into teenagers attending Bedrock High School, dating and even performing together in a band called the Bedrock Rockers. But making an adult Bamm-Bamm the centre of a live-action movie opens up all kinds of possibilities. What does somebody who could lift furniture as a toddler actually do for a living? Construction seems almost unfair. Does he still carry the club? Is he still with Pebbles? And most importantly, has Bedrock discovered shoes yet? These are the questions cinema was invented to answer.
Jokes aside, there is something clever about Warner Bros. returning to The Flintstones without simply making another movie about Fred and Barney. We’ve already done that. The 1994 live-action Flintstones movie starred John Goodman as Fred, Rick Moranis as Barney, Elizabeth Perkins as Wilma and Rosie O’Donnell as Betty. Then The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas followed in 2000. The two live-action films collectively earned more than $400 million worldwide.
Going back to Bamm-Bamm allows Warner Bros. to use all that nostalgia while telling a story we haven’t already watched several times. And nostalgia is definitely doing some heavy lifting here. The Flintstones first arrived on television in 1960, meaning Bedrock has somehow survived more than six decades of changing entertainment trends. It was also the first animated series to occupy a primetime television slot, long before adult animation became commonplace. That’s quite an achievement for a family whose primary mode of transportation required their own feet. The bigger question is whether The Flintstones can still connect with modern audiences.
Kids today have grown up with Marvel, Minecraft, TikTok and entertainment available instantly on practically every screen imaginable. Fred Flintstone yelling at a prehistoric lawnmower might require a little more convincing than it did in 1960. But perhaps that’s exactly why focusing on the next generation makes sense. Instead of trying to recreate Fred Flintstone for another generation, let Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles inherit Bedrock and see what they’ve done with the place.
There’s no writer yet, no director, no release date and no confirmation that Gosling will appear in front of the camera. So we’re still a long way from hearing that familiar “Yabba Dabba Doo!” echo through cinemas again. But I’ll admit it. A grown-up Bamm-Bamm movie sounds ridiculous enough to be fun. Hollywood has resurrected practically everything else from our childhoods. We might as well go all the way back to the Stone Age.
Just please tell me the cars still run on feet.
