A new Pink Panther movie is on the way, with a familiar face taking center stage.

Everyone knows the animated Pink Panther character, but when it comes to Pink Panther movies it’s usually the bumbling French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau, leading the way. The role was originally and most notably played by the late great Peter Sellers, and more recently (and less popularly) by Steve Martin. Now it’s the animated character taking over for a live-action/CGI hybrid movie, the popular way to bring classic cartoon characters to new generations seen in titles like The Smurfs, Garfield, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The new movie is being directed by David Silverman, who has previously directed many episodes of The Simpsons, The Simpsons Movie, and is also listed as a co-director on Pixar’s Monsters, Inc., with Walter Mirisch, executive producer of the original movies, producing again with original director Blake Edwards’ widow Julie Andrews.

This group of people knows you can’t outdo Sellers, so instead of trying again to do so, they decided to make the Panther himself the focus. The new movie is described as an international jewel heist caper flick, and the Panther will not speak, as is usual. While it’s said that the character still exists in the mythology being used for the latest movie, Inspector Clouseau will not appear at all. Henry Mancini‘s classic score, however, will be used.

Simpsons writer and co-executive producer Michael Price is in talks to pen the screenplay.

[Source: Heat Vision]