Last Updated on July 30, 2021
Director Robert Zemeckis's adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel THE WITCHES starring Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer is all set to conjure children into mice in October 2020. And today we have word that this release date is still on track as Geeks World Wide has passed along word that this new version is currently eyeing to begin filming on April 29, in Georgia and Alabama. The United Kingdom will also be a shooting location.
In addition to helming this new take on Dahl's story, Zemeckis is also penning the screenplay along with Black-ish creator Kenya Barris. Zemeckis says he is trying to stay closer to the source material than Nicolas Roeg's original adaptation did… but Zemeckis's take has already been confirmed to take place in an all-new setting than Dahl's novel. Dahl's 1983 story was set in then-present day Norway and England and Zemeckis' version is moving the action to take place in the southern U.S. in the 1960s. The book followed the tale of:
A young boy named Luke who, while staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch 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, Luke the mouse must fight back against the witches.
Anne Hathaway is set to play the Grand High Witch, with newcomers Jahzir Bruno and Codie-Lei Eastick playing boys who have run-ins with witches. Octavia Spencer (who can be seen next in Blumhouse thriller MA) will co-star as the grandmother of Bruno's character. Zemeckis and Jack Rapke are producing THE WITCHES through their company ImageMovers, along with Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron (CHILDREN OF MEN).
THE WITCHES is set to reach theatres on October 16, 2020. Just in time for Halloween.
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