Benedict Cumberbatch and his silky, sinister voice born for "it was a dark and stormy night..." tales (and greedy dragons) is now going to voice the Grinch.

Illumination, the studio that made "Despicable Me" and "Minions," made the announcement at CinemaCon. Cumberbatch will voice the Dr. Seuss character in a movie simply titled "The Grinch." (Sorry, Cindy Lou Who, you'll have to wait for your own standalone movie.) Why Cumby? Well, it's probably obvious, but producer Chris Meledandri said he has a voice that exudes "comedic wickedness while embodying vulnerability."

It sounds like it's early days for "The Grinch," but it will be adapted for the screen by writer Michael LeSieur and directed by Pete Candeland and Yarrow Cheney. According to Entertainment Weekly, the current release date is November 10, 2017.

You'll remember that the Grinch of the 1966 Chuck Jones animated TV short "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" was voiced by Boris Karloff, also the narrator. Jim Carrey took on the role in Ron Howard's 2000 feature-length film.

Cumberbatch is now filming "Sherlock" Season 4, and is starring in Marvel's "Doctor Strange," which just dropped its first trailer before its release in theaters on November 4.

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