Robert Zemeckis, the Oscar winning director of Forrest Gump, and whose Welcome To Marwen arrives in theaters this Thanksgiving, is taking over for Guillermo del Toro to direct an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches for Warner Bros.
The book, which was previously adapted by the studio in 1990 with Anjelica Huston starring, follows a boy who stumbles upon a coven of child-hating witches who he must stop even though he has been turned into a mouse.
Del Toro, who picked up best picture and director Oscars for last year’s The Shape of Water, has long been attached to direct the film, but will now produce alongside fellow Oscar winner Alfonso Cuaron. In addition to directing, Zemeckis will adapt the feature, as well as produce it.
