Anne Hathaway is all set to play one of the most evil characters on screen, according to Variety: the Grand High Witch in Roald Dahl‘s The Witches.
The character was memorably played by Angelica Huston in the 1990 film version, and by “memorable” we mean absolutely bloody terrifying:
Roald Dahl was reportedly not keen on that big-screen version of his 1983 children’s fantasy novel, calling it “utterly appalling” (though many movie-lovers disagreed).
The new version will stick much closer to its source material, however. It’s being made by Robert Zemeckis, the genius director behind movies like Romancing the Stone (1984) and Back to the Future (1985), who’ll pen the script and produce it alongside filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro.
The signs are all looking good, and things are coming together now that Anne’s been added to the cast. Just who’ll play her nemesis — a seven-year-old British boy and his Norwegian Grandmamma, who just so happens to be a retired witch hunter — is yet to be revealed.
It’s also not clear yet if the film will take place in the U.K. or the United States, though some moviegoers might prefer the latter after Anne’s last attempt at a British accent.
Are you excited to see Anne Hathaway in an evil role?