As a child I was a big Roald Dahl fan – he was my go-to author when I wanted to get my pre-teen read on; one of his most famous and celebrated books is The Witches.
A cautionary tale in which a boy discovers a massive coven of witches, hiding in plain sight, whom he must stop before they eat ALL THE CHILDREN.
Did I mention he gets turned into a mouse along the way?
It’s bonkers and it’s great.
According to studio bigwigs, Roberts Zemeckis may be set to direct and write the script in an upcoming adaptation.
Zemeckis is known for his legendary storytelling abilities with such titles under his belt as 1992’s Death Becomes Her (one of my all-time favourite films), the Back To The Future (1985-90) trilogy, Forrest Gump (1994), the fabulous Romancing The Stone (1994) and the terrifying Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).
With Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo Del Toro stepping up to produce and Zemickis’ writing partner Jack Rapke also on board, this reboot could bring The Witches into the 21st century.
Directed by Nicolas Roeg, famous for his classic 1973 horror film Don’t Look Now, 1990’s The Witches gave off a surreal, super close-up, low-budget, ‘I’ve been to a hotel like this’ type feel which was hugely relatable and in my opinion, should be preserved if this reboot is to keep fans of the original happy.
Robert Zemeckis directing Brad Pitt in Allied (2016).
Considering Zemeckis also had success with What Lies Beneath (2000), I think we can trust him to keep the horror of the iconic poisoning scene intact.
I can feel my childhood trauma bubbling up already.
Interestingly, this isn’t the only Roald Dahl book that is being developed now.
A remake of 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (not to be confused with 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) has director Paul King of Paddington (2014) involved.
In terms of who will play the classic role of The Grand High Witch, made famous by Anjelica Huston in the 1990 film, my quick fire list is;
RuPaul
Tilda Swinton
Jessica Lange
Angelina Jolie
Sarah Paulson
Share your thoughts in the comments, and let us know who you’d cast in the role of the head witch in the upcoming adaptation.
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