ALF is on his way back!

For four years in the 80s, ALF was a sitcom that became a pop culture icon thanks to its puppet-alien main character with plenty of wit and a sharp tongue. With a TV sequel film successfully closing out the series’ cliffhangers six years later,ALF has stayed contained simply in that format for years with only two short-lived projects popping up in the 20+ years since the original show’s finale. After main actor Paul Fusco expressed interest earlier this year of possibly bringing backALF on the big screen, many were uncertain just whether or not the sci-fi comedy would find new life. Now, Sony has decided to be the ones stepping up and have decided to start developing the next step for the 80s franchise.

THR reports that Sony Pictures Animation have picked up the rights to ALF and will now start developing the original series into a feature film that is part live action and part CGI. Much like Sony’s popular The Smurfs, another 80s property that went under the same development, the titular character will be digitally animated but SPA is expecting that they will retain Fusco as the voice of ALF. Fusco was the original puppeteer forALF as well, and there has been no other actor to tackle the role since its origins.

Fusco is said to be working with Smurfs producer Jordan Kerner and original creator Tom Patchett in developing the film, but there’s no word if Fusco and Patchett will be penning the script. No writer or director is officially attached yet, but it isn’t surprising given the film’s early development.

ALF, which stands for “alien life form”, centers around a furry creature who crash lands from outer space onto Earth and takes up residence with a family called the Tanners. Most of his comedy stems from a sarcastic nature, and one of his trademarks is having an odd desire to eat cats. The sitcom ran for 102 episodes until 1990, ending with a cliffhanger in which the government kidnapped the character after years of pursuit. A TV film sequel wrapped up the questions and ended the property with ALF being an Earth ambassador.

There is no timetable on when the film may hit theaters, but if SPA is to get a writer attached soon the film could shoot next year for a possible 2014 release.