Illumination Entertainment and Universal are bringing the Grinch back to the big screen for a new animated feature based on the iconic Dr. Seuss tale, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.

Music video and commercials director Pete Candeland will direct the film, a 3D feature based on the 1957 book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Candeland has made videos for The Gorillaz and ads for Coca-Cola, but this would be his first full-length feature.

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Universal will distribute the movie worldwide while Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri will produce. Audrey Geisel, widow of Dr. Seuss author Theodor Geisel, will executive produce.

Illumination still needs to find a writer to adapt the story of the embittered, callous creature. It was adapted into a half-hour animated special in 1966 while Universal released a live-action adaptation on the Grinch tale in 2000. That version, directed by Ron Howard, starred Jim Carrey as the titular character.

This marks the second animated "Grinch" -- the first was a TV version in 1966 -- and the third Dr. Seuss adaptation for Chris Meledandri, the founder of Illumination. He made “Horton Hears a Who!” back when he ran Fox Animation and made “The Lorax” for Universal.

Meledandri’s Illumination is a valuable partner for the studio, as its first movie for the studio, “Despicable Me,” has already spawned a sequel and a spin-off. Since then, the two have collaborated on a pair of released films, “Hop” and “Lorax.”