Bill Hader reportedly set to play titular character in Cat in the Hat animated adaptation

After stunning the world with his exceptional acting skills in HBO's Barry, which concluded some time back, Bill Hader is now set to take up the iconic role of the cat in Cat in the Hat.

The news comes from Jeff Sneider's The InSneider newsletter, which reportedly confirmed that Hader has been tapped to play the primary character.

Based on the 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Theodor Geisel (who used his pen name, Dr. Seuss), the animated film from Warner Bros. is set to arrive in 2025.

Interestingly, this will not be the first time Bill Hader plays the character. He has appeared as the Cat in 2014 on Saturday Night Live. Hader is also well-known for many voice roles, with films including Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and Toy Story 4, among others.

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The Cat in the Hat movie receives an interesting update after a long stage of dormancy

While The Cat in the Hat has been in talks for quite some time, the film had not received any positive update for a long time. Last we heard of the film, it was significantly delayed. The film was originally planned for a February 2024 release, but it seems that it is lagging behind quite a bit and it would be optimistic to think we would get the adaptation in the early days of 2025.

But today, the reported appearance of Bill Hader in the lead role of the tall anthropomorphic cat breathed fresh life into the project, creating another wave of excitement for the fans.

As per InSneider, the film may be released in 2025, which means that there is no confirmation about the same. Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni are reportedly involved in the project as co-directors. Rivinoja and Caroline Williams have reportedly written the script for the same.

This will also mark the first Dr. Seuss adaptation on the big screen since 2003's Bo Welch version, which did not do so well critically. Most of the other previous adaptations have remained limited to animated television specials and shows.

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What is The Cat in the Hat all about?

The Cat in the Hat is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss, which is the pen name of Theodor Geisel. The book follows a tall cat who wears a red and white striped top hat and a red bow tie. According to the story, the cat shows up at the house of Sally and her brother one rainy day when their mother is away and charms them with his tricks before disappearing.

Since its release, the character has become a pop culture icon and has appeared in several different media.