J.J. Abrams producing animated films which will set up a Dr. Seuss universe

The year is 2045, and the Dr. Seuss Cinematic Universe has become an unstoppable juggernaut with J.J. Abrams ruling over the world with an iron fist. As reported by Vanity Fair, Warner Animation Group and Bad Robot are teaming up to develop a series of feature-film adaptations of the books of Dr. Seuss. First up will be THE CAT IN THE HAT, followed by a spin-off THING ONE AND THING TWO, as well as the first-ever adaptation of OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!, the final book published by Dr. Seuss in his lifetime.

The three movies are being designed as the start of a "Seuss universe" that will be produced by J.J. Abrams and Hannah Minghella, head of motion pictures at Bad Robot. Erica Rivinoja (South Park) and Art Hernandez (Tinker Bell) have signed on to helm THE CAT IN THE HAT, which is slated for a 2024 release, with another team putting together THING ONE AND THING TWO for 2026. OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! will be more of a standalone story and is slated to hit theaters in 2027. The Seuss universe won't be anything like the Marvel Cinematic Universe however, as it will be linked by style and theme rather than character and story crossovers. Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, said, "The Cat in the Hat will not meet the boy in Oh, the Places You’ll Go, nor would the Things go visit the Lorax. While it will all feel like part of the Seuss universe, they live in their worlds, and they’re not necessarily going to interact in the same films." Allison Abbate, executive vice president of Warner Animation Group, added:

Seuss builds worlds. There are so many questions that he posits, which is why we can read and reread those stories. It has been exciting for us to think about it as world building and not just a single story… For the first time we’re not just doing one film for one book. We’re going to franchise-build beyond the initial story of these books and find out what happens next. I call it stretching the fabric. How far can it go, to go a little bit deeper with our characters.

"Our goal would be to mirror the way [Dr. Seuss] did his portfolio of books," Brandt added. "The color palettes are different, the architecture is different, but you look at those and go, ‘That’s a Dr. Seuss book.’ If we properly translate [Dr. Seuss'] characters and his messaging, each one creates a different story, but it’s still Seuss DNA. That’s what we’re going to go try to do." If everything goes as planned, you can expect THE CAT IN THE HAT, THING ONE AND THING TWO, and OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO! to be just the beginning of a bigger journey.