Robert Downey Jr. Is Taking THE VOYAGE OF DR. DOLITTLE

According to Variety, Universal is gearing up for a new Dr. Dolittle movie, and it's roped Robert Downey, Jr. into headlining the thing. The film will be directed by Stephen Gaghan, who'll be working from his own screenplay.

At present, there's nothing further known about the film, other than the fact that it'll center around the famous character created by British author Hugh Lofting back in the '20s. As you know, the character and his adventures - which largely revolve around the good doctor's ability to speak to animals - have been adapted to film on more than one occasion, most notably in 1967 (in a version which starred Rex Harrison) and again in the late '90s/early '00s (in a pair of uproariously unfunny films starring Eddie Murphy).

Editorial note: this writer just sat here for five full minutes trying to think of something, anything else to say about this project. Having failed to do so, this post will now be brought to an abrupt halt, and all readers will be encouraged to hit the comments to weigh in with their own thoughts and feelings on this matter. Good day.