Invoice Hader is swapping the darkish comedy of “Barry” for pure animated enjoyable — whereas staying underneath the Warner Bros. Discovery hat.
Hader’s first mission since wrapping his acclaimed HBO sequence in 2023 is the animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’ “The Cat within the Hat.” Hader stars because the titular character who “takes on his hardest project but for the I.I.I.I. (Institute for the Establishment of Creativeness and Inspiration, LLC): to cheer Gabby and Sebastian, a pair of siblings combating their transfer to a brand new city,” because the synopsis reads. “Recognized for taking issues too far, this could possibly be this agent of chaos’ final probability to show himself…or lose his magical hat!”
Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry, Quinta Brunson, Paula Pell, Tiago Martinez, Giancarlo Esposito, America Ferrera, Bowen Yang, and Tituss Burgess co-star within the animated movie.
Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja co-write and co-direct “The Cat within the Hat.” Earlier this yr, Carloni mentioned throughout a Work in Development session at Annecy, through Deadline, that WBD’s 2023 shelving of “Coyote vs. Acme” was sadly “consultant of how painful and atrocious the trade could be,” particularly for animated movies. (“Coyote vs. Acme” was later bought to Ketchup Leisure in 2025 and can obtain a theatrical launch subsequent yr.)
As for a way their model of “The Cat within the Hat” will differ from different iterations, Carloni mentioned they approached the supply materials with a contemporary perspective. “We seemed again on the ebook and questioned why the kids develop into extra assured by the top of the books,” Carloni mentioned. “Deep down, is [the cat] the best youngster psychologist of all time? The best emotional assist animal?”
Along with “The Cat within the Hat,” actor Hader has one other mission within the works at Warner Bros. Hader is co-writing a sequence in regards to the Jonestown cult bloodbath with “Damages” showrunner Daniel Zelman. Hader will function co-showrunner with Zelman and in addition govt produce, with Hader set to direct ought to the mission transfer ahead at HBO. A supply instructed IndieWire that Hader might probably star within the sequence as Jim Jones as nicely.
“Saturday Night time Dwell” alum Hader beforehand gained two Emmys for Finest Actor in a Comedy for “Barry.” The sequence itself garnered 16 whole Emmy nominations for author/director/creator Hader throughout its 4 seasons.
Warner Bros. Footage will launch “The Cat within the Hat” in theaters February 27, 2026. Try the trailer beneath.