Michael Bay is producing a live-action Dora the Explorer movie

Famed purveyor of big screen explosions and devastating global destruction Michael Bay is working with Paramount Pictures on a live-action adaptation of beloved children's cartoon Dora the Explorer.

In an unexpected move for the Transformers director, Bay will produce the film alongside Andrew Form and Brad Fuller, his partners at production company Platinum Dunes. The Muppets writer-director Nick Stoller is on board to pen a script for the project (via THR).

Dora the Explorer is an educational, animated TV series made by Nickelodeon, which ran for eight seasons and 172 episodes from 2000 to 2014.

In the series Dora is a seven-year-old girl who goes on adventures around the world with her monkey pal Boots. The film will reportedly star a teenage Dora as she moves to the city to live with her cousin Diego.

No release date has been set but Paramount is said to be keen on 2019.

Dora the Explorer has been a worldwide hit, translated into numerous languages and adapted for stage shows and video games.

Nick Stoller seems to be a strong pick for the film, having worked on a mix of comedies over the years for adults (Bad Neighbours 2, Zoolander 2, Get Him to the Greek) and children (The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted).

Earlier this year he penned the script for Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, an unexpected hit with critics.

Michael Bay meanwhile directed the most recent Transformers sequel - The Last Knight - and has numerous projects in the pipeline as a producer, including further sequels, Transformers spin-off Bumblebee, Amazon's Jack Ryan series and the next Purge movie.