News like this could make Garfield change his stance on Mondays.

Alcon Entertainment, the company behind the upcoming "Blade Runner" sequel, has secured the rights to develop an animated feature based on Jim Davis' long-running comic strip. Davis will serve as an executive producer.

Alcon's goal is to launch a CG-animated "Garfield" movie franchise.

Debuting in 1978, the comic strip centers on a cynical, lazy and gluttonous orange cat, and his interactions with his awkward owner Jon Arbuckle, dim-witted dog Odie and occasional other characters, like Nermal, "the world's cutest kitten," and Arlene, Garfield's romantic interest.

The strip has spawned a multimedia and merchandising empire, with animated television series and specials, video games, direct-to-video animated movies, and a pair of live-action/CGI hybrid features, 2004's "Garfield: The Movie" and its 2006 sequel "Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties."

John Cohen ("Despicable Me," "The Angry Birds Movie") and Steven P. Wegner ("Racing Stripes," "The Book of Eli") will produce.