"Horton Hears a Who" helmer Jimmy Hayward will take over for Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor who dropped out as the directors of "Jonah Hex," a Western film based on the DC Comics character by the same name.

Best known for writing and directing the Jason Statham starrer "Crank," Neveldine and Taylor wrote the script for "Jonah Hex," but quit the project in November due to "creative differences" prompting the Warner Bros studio to find a replacement as soon as possible.

Other contenders for the job reportedly included "Race to Witch Mountain's" Andy Fickman and McG. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Hayward was an animator on the early Pixar movies including "Toy Story," "A Bug’s Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monster’s Inc" and "Finding Nemo." He left Pixar to get his first shot in the director’s chair over at Blue Sky Studios, 20th Century Fox’s computer animation house and last year, he directed "Horton Hears a Who!" starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. He also did some additional direction on "Robots."

Produced by Andrew Lazar and Akiva Goldsman, "Jonah Hex," which stars "W." and "Milk" actor Josh Brolin as the partly disfigured gunslinger and bounty hunter, will be Hayward's live-action directorial debut.

Hayward became the latest moviemaker from an animation background who is venturing into live-action genre flicks. John Stevenson, a former story board artist for films like "Shrek 2" and "Madagascar" who helmed "Kung Fu Panda," is attached to direct "We3," an adaptation of the Vertigo mini-series.

The movie will likely go into production in March or April.