Bill Hader to Lead New ‘The Cat in The Hat’ Movie

Bowen Yang, Xochitl Gomez, Matt Berry and Paula Pell are all lending their vocal talents to the new Warner Bros. Animation movie, to be released in 2026.

Bill Hader on 'Barry.' Photograph by Merrick Morton/HBO.

Preview:

Bill Hader is leading the voices in a new ‘Cat in the Hat’ movie.
Quinta Brunson and Matt Berry are almost among the cast.
The movie is due in theaters in March 2026.

Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Cat in the Hat’ has something of a checkered history in movies. While the 1957 book has been successfully adapted in animated form for TV, the last time it was seen in theaters was the disastrous 2003 live-action version starring Mike Myers as the title character.

That is probably best forgotten, but Warner Bros. Animation and the Seuss Enterprises company are hoping to change the feline’s filmic reputation via a new animated movie, which has Bill Hader leading the cast as the Cat.

The Cat in the Hat

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What’s the story of ‘The Cat in the Hat’?

2003's 'The Cat in the Hat.' Photo: Universal Pictures.

Seuss’ tome sees two kids who are left home alone by their mother who are surprised to have The Cat barge into their house. Far from screaming about Stranger Danger, they agree to his playful schemes, only for the family fish to put up a fight and order him to leave.

But The Cat still has plenty of fun, including unleashing two identical “Things” upon the house and chaos ensues –– but once ordered to leave, he returns with a machine to clean the place up.

Who is in the new ‘The Cat in the Hat’ movie?

Quinta Brunson on ABC's 'Abbott Elementary.' Photo Courtesy of ABC's YouTube Channel.

Alongside Hader (who played a slightly less family-friendly Cat in a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch), the cast includes ‘Abbott Elementary’ star/creator Quinta Brunson, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Xochitl Gomez, ‘Saturday Night Live’s Bowen Yang, Matt Berry of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ and ‘Girls5Eva’s Paula Pell.

Is this the first attempt at a new ‘The Cat in the Hat’ movie?

2003's 'The Cat in the Hat.' Photo: Universal Pictures.

This is not the first time an animated movie based on the Cat’s chaos was considered. In 2012, following the financial success of ‘The Lorax’, Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment announced plans to produce a CGI adaptation. Rob Lieber was set to write the script, but it never came to fruition.

Warner Bros. picked up the rights to produce a ‘Cat’ animated adventure, and Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja are writing and directing the movie. Jeff Sneider at The InSneider first reported the news of Hader’s casting.

Here’s what Bill Damaschke, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation said about the new plan:

“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.”