MGM is going back into its vault to bring back the iconic pink cat in a significant way. Jeff Fowler, the director of Sonic the Hedgehog, will be directing a new live-action/CGI hybrid feature film based on the famous cat Pink Panther.

Chris Bremner is writing MGM’s modern re-imagining with Lawrence Mirisch, Julie Andrews Edwards of Geoffrey Productions, Dan Lin, and Jonathan Eirich from Rideback. Walter Mirisch and Rideback’s Ryan Halprin will be the executive producers.

Fowler is no novice to making a live-action/CGI hybrid, just having directed Sonic the Hedgehog adaptation for Paramount. The film was a big hit for Paramount in 2020 and has already planned a sequel.

“Popular the world over, the legacy of the iconic Pink Panther has endured for more than 50 years and continues to be discovered by new generations,” said Michael De Luca, MGM Film Group chairman, and Pamela Abdy, MGM Film Group president. “We are so happy to come together with Jeff, Chris, Larry, Julie, Dan, Jonathan, Walter, and Ryan to bring one of MGM’s most well-loved franchise back to the big screen and, in a way, audience have never seen before.”

The Pink Panther is the longest and the most famous comedy franchise from MGM, Julie Andrews Edwards’ late husband Blake Edwards writer-director created Pink Panther, in collaboration with producer Walter Mirisch.

The Mirisch Company produced Blake Edwards’ The Pink Panther in 1964 that starred Peter Sellers as a turbulent French detective. Eight titles in the series were written and directed by Edwards. Let’s not forget the Pink Panther theme song from composer Henry Mancini. He was nominated for an Academy Award. In that same year, the first theatrical cartoon was made.