Yet another cartoon character is headed to the big screen, this time in the form of Woody Woodpecker. Universal’s Illumination Entertainment, the studio behind Despicable Me and the upcoming Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, is apparently developing a new feature film centering on the character. Heat Vision reports that screenwriters John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (Blades of Glory) are in talks to develop a story for the feature film, which is said to be a modernized iteration of the character with franchise potential. The character was created in 1940 and was brought to life in theatrical short films by renowned voice actor Mel Blanc.

The last big entertainment vehicle for Woody Woodpecker came with the Fox Kids series The New Woody Woodpecker Show, which aired from 1999-2002. I was never especially taken by the character, but Illumination has done some fine work so far (and I’m eagerly awaiting The Lorax), so if they want to develop their own take on Woody, more power to them. Hit the jump to watch the 1942 Woody Woodpecker cartoon The Hollywood Matador.