Originally, the thought of The Witches conjured up terrifying images of long, beaked noses and dangling earlobes thanks to a 1990s Anjelica Huston. But, that’s not the case for Anne Hathaway, who takes on the form of a stylish and fashion-forward villain in the latest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1983 classic.
HBO Max has announced its bringing director Robert Zemeckis’ remake of the children’s book to the big screen later this month, just in time for the spooky season. Below, everything we know about the highly-anticipated film.
What Is The Witches About?
Based on the popular children’s novel by Roald Dahl, The Witches is about a young orphaned boy who stumbles upon a coven of witches during a hotel visit with his grandmother. Led by the Grand High Witch (Hathaway), the group of witches set out on an evil plan to turn all children into mice. The boy and his grandmother are forced to work together to try to stop the evil plan.
Who Has Been Cast?
The film will see Hathaway reunite with The Devil Wears Prada costar Stanley Tucci. Newcomer Jahzir Kadeem Bruno takes on the role of the young boy and Octavia Spencer plays his grandmother.
On her role in the movie, Spencer told People, “Grandma was such a fun character to play because of her personality, expansive knowledge of witches, and her compassion. She’s just the type of person you want on your side if you have to battle witches!”
Chris Rock narrates the film and Broadway legend Kristin Chenoweth is also set to make an appearance, but which character she will play is still unknown.
Has The Trailer Been Released?
Fans were finally given their first look at Hathaway, Spencer and Tucci in the remake, serving up some major looks and spooky antics (perfect with Halloween just around the corner). Watch the full trailer below.
What Was The Inspiration Behind Hathaway’s Character?
Taking over from Huston’s iconic role, Hathaway said: “The Grand High Witch was a total collaboration between costumes, hair and make-up, the writers, my dialect coach, the effects department, stunts, [director] Bob Zemeckis and myself,” Hathaway told People of her character. “She is such a weirdo, so silly and over the top, and everyone had to work together to be on the same page so it felt big and entertaining but never too much.”
There’s also no telling if her antagonist will have the same memorable, nightmare-inducing, face-removing scene as her predecessor, but one clip from the sneak peek above suggest its definitely a possibility.
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