Phil Lord and Christopher Miller developing Strays

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are developing a new live-action comedy film 'Strays'.

The filmmaking duo - whose previous work includes 'The Lego Movie' and '21 Jump Street' - are working with Universal for the comedy flick about an abandoned dog who teams up with other stray pooches to get revenge on his former owner.

The project is an adult comedy based on an original pitch from writer Dan Perrault. Josh Greenbaum is directing the film having made his debut behind the camera on Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo's comedy movie 'Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar'.

Picturestart has packaged and developed the script for Greenbaum, Lord and Miller as well as producers Louis Leterrier and Erik Feig.

The movie falls under Lord and Miller's first-look deal with Universal as they aim to produce features in both comedy and drama based on original content.

Universal Pictures senior vice president of production development Jeyun Munford will oversee the film for the studio with Jessica Switch and Julia Hammer executive producing for Picturestart. Nikki Baida is also involved as an executive producer for Lord Miller.

The filmmaking duo were recently tapped to direct an adaptation of 'The Premonition: A Pandemic Story'.

The new feature is based on the new book by Michael Lewis, which tells the story of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States and those who tried to warn against the dangers of the killer virus.

'The Premonition' was published last week and is a non-fiction story that follows three central characters – a biochemist, a public health worker and a federal government employee who works in The White House as they confront the dangers of COVID-19.

The project is described as similar in tone to 'All The President's Men' – the political thriller about the Watergate scandal starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman – as it focuses on the distinct characters who risked everything in the hope of saving lives.