Anne Hathaway might be headed to The Witches.
According to Variety, Hathaway has been offered a role in Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis‘ adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 children’s novel, The Witches. While the actress has not officially accepted the role, the report that she is considering it even as she considers another film offer — a starring role in Warner Bros.’ Sesame Street movie.
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The report didn’t specify what role Hathaway was offered for The Witches, but it’s possible that she was offered the role of the Grand High Witch, a character played by Anjelica Houston in the very loose 1990 adaptation of the novel, also entitled The Witches.
That film, which was produced by The Jim Henson Company and was the last one that Jim Henson personally worked on prior to his death, centered on a child who encounters a real world of witchcraft hidden plain sight. The plot of the film involved witches who pretend to be everyday women, so that they can kidnap and kill children. In the story, they are thwarted by a child they had turned into a mouse and his grandmother. At the end, the implication is that our heroes will have to journey out into the wider world and begin defeating witches beyond just the ones in England. Since there was no sequel, that plot thread was never picked up on.
The 1990 film, which performed only modestly at the box office but has become a cult classic, was a very loose adaptation of Dahl’s novel. Zemeckis’ take is set to be a more faithful adaptation with the director also expected to write the script. Guillermo del Toro had previously been tapped to direct the film but departed the project due to scheduling conflicts.
Hathaway is best known to comic book audiences for her role as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, as well as appearances in The Princess Diaries, Ocean’s 8, Alice in Wonderland, and Les Misérables for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Fantine.
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