Neil Patrick Harris Says Barney Won't Appear on How I Met Your Father Unless He's 'Changed'

Neil Patrick Harris; Hilary Duff
Neil Patrick Harris; Hilary Duff
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Steve Jennings/Getty Images; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

If you're holding your breath for the day when How I Met Your Mother's Barney Stinson makes his legen—wait for it—dary return to the small screen, you'll have to keep waiting.

Neil Patrick Harris discussed the possibility of a Barney cameo with Hilary Duff, who leads Hulu's spinoff series How I Met Your Father. He said his beloved television womanizer won't make a guest turn unless the character has made some major life changes.

"As for coming on your show (insert joke here), I worry," Harris shared with Duff in his Wondercade newsletter. "Barney's antics, his overt delusions of grandeur, would likely get everyone in trouble. So, unless he's changed his ways or joined a nunnery (insert an insert joke here), not sure if it's in anyone's best interest."

Duff, 34, note that Barney would probably be taken a little different in a post-#MeToo world, joking, "I'm not sure how you feel about this, but I'm pretty sure Barney would … be in jail in 2022."

She added, "Since we're living in the world of females coming into power, I'm assuming that's why they made him a woman" in the form of the Barney-esque character Valentina (Francia Raisa).

How I Met Your Mother, Season Four
How I Met Your Mother, Season Four

Monty Brinton/CBS/Getty

RELATED: HIMYM Fans Are Nostalgic Over Hulu's How I Met Your Father Spinoff — and One Particular Set!

While Harris, 48, may be missing from the new series, there are ties to the original — notably, the premiere episode of How I Met Your Father surprised viewers with the same apartment set that once belonged to Marshall (Jason Segel), Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Ted (Josh Radnor).

How I met your father
How I met your father

Hulu

While the setup of HIMYF is similar to HIMYM (Duff plays Sophie, a single woman who will eventually meet the father of her future children), there was one big change this time — viewers were introduced to the father in episode 1.

RELATED: Everything We Know About How I Met Your Mother's Spinoff Series How I Met Your Father

How I Met Your Father drops new episodes Tuesdays on Hulu.