What took him so long? Speedy Gonzales animated film is in the works as Eugenio Derbez confirms he is voicing racing rodent

Published: 16:44 EST, 4 April 2016 | Updated: 19:16 EST, 4 April 2016

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For the fastest mouse in Mexico, he certainly took a long time to get here.

Speedy Gonzales is finally getting his own feature film.

Mexican filmmaker and actor Eugenio Derbez confirmed to Deadline that the racing rodent is off the starting line at Warner Bros.

Arriba! Mexican filmmaker and actor Eugenio Derbez has confirmed that he will voice Speedy Gonzales in his first big screen outing

Fastest mouse in Mexico: Speedy, who is part of the Looney Toons crew, made his debut in the 1953 cartoon Cat-Tails for Two, although the modern incarnation as he is known today didn't appear in his own short until two years later

'I’m really excited to be bringing this character to the big screen,' said Derbez, who was most recently seen playing Dr. Nurko opposite Jennifer Garner in Miracles from Heaven.

'In Mexico we grew up watching Speedy Gonzalez. He was like a superhero to us, or maybe more like a revolutionario like Simon Bolivar or Pancho Villa,' he said, 'He watched out for the little people but with a lot of bravado and a weakness for the ladies.

'And besides being Mexican - my full name is Eugenio Derbez Gonzales... and I have big ears,' he added. 'The casting couldn’t be better.'

Speedy, who is part of the Looney Toons crew, made his debut in the 1953 cartoon Cat-Tails for Two, although the modern incarnation as he is known today didn't appear in his own short until two years later.

Psyched: 'I’m really excited to be bringing this character to the big screen,' said Derbez, who was most recently seen playing Dr. Nurko opposite Jennifer Garner in Miracles from Heaven

Famed for his cry of 'Arriba! Arriba! Andale! Andale!', the mouse is not seen on TV as frequently as his Looney stablemates, mainly due to what some claim is the racist portrayal of Mexican Stereotypes.

Indeed the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD box set includes the disclaimer: 'The cartoons you are about to see are products of their time. They may depict some of the ethnic and racial prejudices that were commonplace in American society. These depictions were false then and are still false today.

'While the following does not represent the WB view of society, these cartoons are being presented as they were originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as to claim these prejudices never existed.'

Nevertheless the character remains hugely popular in Hispanic countries, with the League of United Latin American Citizens once declaring him a cultural icon.

Racist racer: Famed for his cry of 'Arriba! Arriba! Andale! Andale!', the mouse is not seen on TV as frequently as his Looney stablemates, mainly due to what some claim is the racist portrayal of Mexican Stereotypes

Producer Dylan Sellers said: 'We see this as an origin story of the great master, like a Robin Hood character, who ultimately ends up taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

'In a time when Donald Trump is gaining momentum, the world needs Speedy more than ever,' he added.

The project is tentatively titled Speedy and will be a 'heist caper' movie, according to Deadline.

It will have both English and Spanish language versions with their own tweaked gags for local audiences, which boosts foreign language box office returns.

This was the case with all four Shrek films, in which Derbez replaced Eddie Murphy as Donkey for the Spanish-language versions.

No word yet on whether Speedy's cousin Slowpoke Rodriguez will make an appearance.