Way back in June we passed along the badass news that director Robert Zemeckis (BACK TO THE FUTURE Trilogy, CAST AWAY) was going to be helming and penning the screenplay for an all-new live-action adaptation of author Roald Dahl's nightmare-inducing kid-horror novel THE WITCHES.
Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron will be producing the new take on the 1973 novel and today we have word via Variety that the first cast member may be set. And it looks like Anne Hathaway has been offered the starring role in the new film. The novel was originally adapted back in 1990 by director Nicolas Roeg. Angelica Huston starred as the Grand High Witch. While Roeg's film was a loose adaptation of the novel, the plan is for Zemeckis's version to stick closer to the source material.
The original film followed this synopsis:
While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga (Mai Zetterling), young Luke (Jasen Fisher) inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch (Anjelica Huston) reveals a plan to turn all children into mice through a magical formula. When they find that Luke has overheard, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of Helga and the hotel manager, Mr. Stringer (Rowan Atkinson), Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
No word on if Hathaway is planning to accept the role or even if her role will be that of the Grand High Witch. But I mean… she has to be, right? I highly doubt she's in the running for one of those mouse/fat kid hybrids. But either way, we will keep on top of this news and make sure to pass along word once we hear something more concrete. Until then you can go ahead and snag a copy of Dahl's classic book for someone's child you can't stand this Chrismas over on Amazon RIGHT HERE.