With hit ’80s cartoons Transformers, Speed Racer, Voltron and He-Man all making their way to the big screen, it was only a matter of time before Thundercats got dragged into the mix. Daily Variety reports that Warner Bros. Studio has optioned a script for a feature-length, live-action treatment of the popular Rankin & Bass toon series that had humanoid felines facing extinction at the hands of an evil ruler on a strange planet.

Based on characteres created by Tobin “Ted” Wolf, the 1983 series followed the adventures of the surviving inhabitants of the destroyed planet Thundera who were forced to flee their home in escape vessels. The crew crash-lands on Third Earth, where they make friends with various groups and build a fortress to defend against the centuries-old evil of Mumm-Ra and the mutants that wiped out the rest of their kind. The animation for the series was provided by Pacific Animation Corporation, a collective of Japanese studios which included Topcraft (a group which would later form Studio Ghibli).

The feature adaptation’s screenplay, penned by Fox Broadcasting print advertising writer Paul Sopocy, reportedly focuses on the character Lion-O as he emerges as the leader of the Thundercats. Sopocy’s previous film writing credits include the 2005 Sundance short Staring at the Sun.

Warner Bros. picked up rights to the Thundercats property in 1989 when it acquired Telepictures Corp., but apparently hasn’t seen big-screen potential until now. Paula Weinstein (Blood Diamond) will produce through her Warner-based Spring Creek Prods., along with Dick Robertson and Lew Korman. Dan Lin is overseeing production for Warner Bros.