Bill Hader Leads Warner Bros. Pictures Animation‘s 'The Cat In The Hat' Into 2026

The first film of the studio and Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ pact was originally set for 2025

It’s been six years since Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (then Warner Animation Group) was announced to have an animated The Cat in the Hat film in the works thanks to a pact with Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Originally announced for 2025, it’s now been set for March 6, 2026, and considering the hard-fought dual strikes, it’s not in the pile of surprises. Bill Hader’s been cast as the Cat, and there’s a supporting cast on top of that.

Hader, who spent 2005 to 2013 as a castmember of Saturday Night Live, played the Cat in the Hat during his hosting gig in season 40 in 2014. He’s joined for this film adaptation by current cast member Bowen Yang, and former writer Paula Pell, currently starring on recent Netflix transplant Girls5Eva. In fact, this century’s three major performers of the Cat character are alums of the show, with Mike Myers in the infamous 2003 live action Universal Pictures film, and Martin Short as the voice for the PBS Kids series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Also starring in the film are Abbott Elementary‘s Quinta Brunson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’s Xochitl Gomez, and What We Do in The Shadows and Krapopolis’s Matt Berry. Their roles are unknown, but Hader’s Cat will in this film take on his “toughest assignment yet”: a pair of siblings, as is typical, this time struggling to adjust to a move to a new town.

The Cat in the Hat is directed and written by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, and produced by Daniela Mazzucato and Jared Stern. Hader and Dr. Seuss Enterprises President and CEO Susan Brandt serve as executive producers. DNEG Animation will be the animation studio partner, in the same way TV shows have secondary studios like Titmouse. WBPA President Bill Damaschke said “We are overjoyed to partner with our friends at Dr. Seuss to take audiences of all ages on an adventure into the beloved world of The Cat in the Hat. With this incredible voice cast led by Bill Hader as the fun-loving, agent of chaos himself and our filmmakers Alessandro and Erica at the helm, we look forward to sharing this Seussian cinematic spectacle with audiences everywhere in 2026!” Brandt added, “We are excited to see such an exceptional group of talent join the effort to bring this iconic property to the screen as an animated feature. It’s been an amazing experience collaborating with the team from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation so far, as they truly understand what it takes to capture the magic of The Cat in the Hat and share his brand of imagination and joy with a new generation of Dr. Seuss fans.”

Source: Deadline