Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming adaptation of The Witches has found its first witch in Anne Hathaway.
The film is based on the 1973 children’s novel of the same name by Roald Dahl, which follows the experiences of a 7-year-old boy who has an unpleasant run-in with a coven of witches. It will be the second screen adaptation of the story, after Warner Bros’ 1990 film directed by Nicolas Roeg.
According to Variety, Hathaway is set to star as the Grand High Witch, the role that Anjelica Huston played in the previous film. We can’t image being traumatised by Anne Hathaway in the same way that Anjelica Huston traumatised us, but we also can’t imagine that there’s anything that Anne Hathaway can’t do.
Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban) are both serving as producers. Zemeckis is set to write the script with his ImageMovers partner Jack Rapke, and the pair will also produce. Like the 1990 version, the film is coming from Warner Bros.
You can read the synopsis for The Witches, as found on the official Roald Dahl website, here:
Witches absolutely detest children. To a witch, a child smells like dogs’ droppings. And now the Grand High Witch is planning to get rid of every child in England – can anybody stop them?
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