The Grinch Trailer: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Grumpier Than Ever

You're a mean one, Mr. Cumberbatch. 

Benedict Cumberbatch puts on his grumpy pants as the voice of the Grinch in (what else?) The Grinch, the impending animated comedy from Universal Studios and Illumination Entertainment. The studios released the second trailer for the film on Thursday, and while its title character may be the definition of curmudgeonly, the new footage is nothing but nice. 

Opening on the Grinch stalking the Christmas-loving Whos of Who-ville, groaning at the "greedy little gift monsters," the trailer teases the story of the cynical green-furred creature with a hatred for holiday spirit. The Grinch does everything from cheating at chess to chewing up a pickle and spitting it back into the jar for another shopper to discover in horror later, but those evil deeds are nothing compared to his ultimate plan: disguising himself as Santa Claus and stealing Christmas from the Whos. 

With his scrappy dog Max in tow, and his cave on Mount Crumpet stocked with everything he needs to be nefarious on an everyday basis, the Grinch looks as though he'll succeed in his mean-spirited mission. But when the Grinch meets a young girl named Cindy-Lou Who, whose generosity and optimism is infectious, his two-sizes-too-small heart begins to change. 

Check it out above. 

Cumberbatch is the only voice actor confirmed for The Grinch at the time of writing, and neither this new trailer nor the one Universal and Illumination revealed earlier this year feature other significant voices alongside Cumberbatch's. (A random female Who speaks in this new clip, but it's unlikely that she's a major character.) As the film inches closer to launching on November 9, perhaps the studios will announce some big-name stars who join Cumberbatch. 

The last we saw of the actor with the infamously parodied name, he starred as Doctor Strange in Avengers: Infinity War – and we all know how, ahem, wonderfully that movie treated its characters. With The Grinch, it'll be nice to see (well, hear, really) Cumberbatch in a campier, more lighthearted role that definitely won't involve a mass genocide at the hands of an intergalactic tyrant. At least we hope it won't, that is. 

Co-directed by Yarrow Cheney (The Secret Life of Pets) and Scott Mosier (Clerks, Mallrats), The Grinch is set to open on November 9.