Los Angeles, Oct 7: Illumination Entertainment and Infinitum Nihil are developing a live-action movie about the life of classic children's author and illustrator Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Geisel).
Depp will produce the project with the potential to star as Seuss, and Universal Pictures will distribute. Keith Bunin (In Treatment) has been hired to write the screenplay.
Depp is producing with Infinitum Nihil partner Christi Dembrowski, Illumination's Christopher Meledandri and David Kennedy.
With Depp already having brought to life the Mad Hatter, Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie and Willy Wonka, the iconic Seuss seems a great fit for his chameleonic personality and recent desire to make family films.
While producers say that the film is unlikely to take the fantastical CGI-coated style of Alice in Wonderland, which grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide with Depp in the lead, they are not ruling out animated bells and whistles.
As some of the most popular works of all time, Geisel's books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide.