The Witches (2020 film)

The Witches is an upcoming American dark fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Kenya Barris. It is based on the novel of the same name by Roald Dahl and is its second feature-length adaptation of the novel following the 1990 film. It stars Anne Hathaway, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, and Chris Rock.

Premise
A little boy stumbles across a conference of witches while staying with his grandmother at a hotel, and gets transformed into a mouse by the Grand High Witch.

Cast

 * Anne Hathaway as Miss Eva Ernst / Grand High Witch
 * Octavia Spencer
 * Stanley Tucci
 * Chris Rock
 * Jahzir Bruno
 * Codie-Lei Eastick
 * Simon Manyonda

Development
Talks of a new adaptation of Roald Dahl's 1983 novel The Witches began in 2008, when Guillermo del Toro expressed interest in making a stop motion film. No further developments on the potential project emerged until ten years later in June 2018, when Robert Zemeckis was hired to direct and write the script. Del Toro would produce, alongside Zemeckis and Alfonso Cuarón, in addition to having a screenplay credit. It was described by Zemeckis as being closer to the original novel than the 1990 version directed by Nicolas Roeg. Kenya Barris will co-write the film, which was revealed as taking place in Alabama during the 1960s instead of the novel's 1980s England and that the boy protagonist (originally an English child of Norwegian descent in the novel) is to be played by a black actor.

Casting
In January 2019, Anne Hathaway was cast in the role of Grand High Witch. Octavia Spencer was cast in February with newcomers Jahzir Bruno and Codie-Lei Eastick also joining. In May, Stanley Tucci and Chris Rock were added.

Filming
Principal photography began on May 8, 2019, with filming locations including Alabama, Georgia and at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Hertfordshire, England and Virginia Water Lake in Surrey, England. It was expected to wrap on June 25. On June 19, a crew member was stabbed in the neck on the Warner Bros. Studios set in Leavesden.

Release
The film is scheduled for release on October 16, 2020.