Warner Bros. has snapped up "Where the Wild Things Are" out of turnaround from Universal reports Variety.

The film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic kid's book, which Spike Jonze will helm from a script he and novelist Dave Eggers penned, is expected to head into production late in the year. Legendary Pictures is expected to co-finance.

The live-action feature will likely require a sizable CGI budget, and details of the Jonze-Eggers version are being kept closely guarded. The current vision of the pic has the strong support of author Sendak who was very critical of Universal's early attempts to adapt his work.