Universal has landed a prime summer 2019 release date for its untitled “Doctor Dolittle” reboot starring Robert Downey Jr.
The studio announced on Monday that it will release the new child-friendly adventure film, directed by Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan, on May 24, 2019.
Based on the enduring tales imagined by Hugh Lofting about a physician who is able to talk to animals, the new film will be produced by Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum under their Roth/Kirschenbaum Films (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Maleficent”), alongside Susan Downey (“Sherlock Holmes” franchise, “The Judge”) for Team Downey.
Gaghan wrote the most recent draft of the screenplay from an earlier draft by Tom Shepherd.
Rex Harrison first played Dolittle on the big screen in the 1967 musical “Doctor Dolittle,” an unlikely Oscar nominee for Best Picture. (It lost that category but won stautettes for original song and visual effects.
Then Eddie Murphy starred in two successful live-action remakes in 1998 and 2001.