Paddington movie team bringing Pippi Longstocking back to big screen

Children's favourite Pippi Longstocking is striding back to the big screen, thanks to the bosses behind the Paddington films.

The nine-year-old redhead with superhuman strength first appeared in a book series by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren in 1945, after the author's daughter Karin asked her mum to cheer her up with a story when she was sick. The get-well tales ultimately became a global phenomenon which spawned books, TV series and films - most recently 1988's live-action movie, The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking.

Now executives at StudioCanal and David Heyman's Heyday Films, who recently brought back another famed children's literary character, Michael Bond's Paddington, are planning a big screen revamp for the beloved character, in partnership with staff at the Astrid Lindgren Company.

"Pippi has endured and inspired families everywhere through her life force, strength of character and her irrepressible joie de vivre," Heyman shared in a statement. "Astrid Lindgren's books have been translated around the globe for many years - a testament to her vision, which we are determined to honour with a new film."

Cast and crew details have not yet been released but the feisty little girl already has at least one very famous fan - former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama recently told the Today show Pippi Longstocking was the first book she really loved.

"I was really fascinated with this strong little girl that was the centre of everything," she recalled. "And she was almost magical in a way. I mean, she was stronger and tougher than anyone. She had superhuman strength."