Robert Zemeckis set to team up with Guillermo del Toro for film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches
Two modern masters are looking to bring the classic children's novel to life
Back To the Future director Robert Zemeckis is in talks to helm a new adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches, alongside producer Guillermo del Toro.
Hollywood insider site Variety reports that a deal is in the works which will see Zemeckis write and direct the film in lieu of del Toro, who had long been rumoured to direct. The Oscar winner has apparently been forced to forgo the opportunity as a result of scheduling conflicts, and will now produce the film alongside Gravity's Alfonso Cuaron.
The story is said to be a closer adaptation of the source material – which sees a young boy take on a coven of children-hating witches after they turn him into a mouse – than the 1990 Angelica Houston-led film version.
Del Toro is currently at work on several projects, including a typically macabre adaptation of Pinocchio, and Amazon's fantasy series Carnival Row, while Zemeckis' latest film, the Steve Carrell-led Welcome to Marwen, is due out in UK cinemas at the beginning of 2019.
