One of my favorite movies growing up was The Witches, the 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl‘s 1973 book of the same name. A new adaptation of the book has been in the works for quite a while now, with Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron attached to direct at different points.

Now that new adaptation is back in business. It’s being reported that Back to the Future and Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis is in final negotiations to direct The Witches for Warner Brothers, with a deal expected to be made official soon.

While a new director is now lined up, del Toro and Cuaron are still involved as producers along with Zemeckis’s partner Jack Rapke through their film studio ImageMovers. Zemeckis is also going to be penning the screenplay.

Here’s a description of Dahl’s The Witches from Amazon:

From the bestselling author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The BFG!

This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches.

Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There’s nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma’s stories””but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face-to-face with The Grand High Witch herself!

The 1990 movie, also through Warner Brothers, is considered a “loose” adaptation of Dahl’s tale. It starred Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch, and was directed by Nicolas Roeg. Also involved with the film was Jim Henson, who was an executive producer, and his Jim Henson Productions. Zemeckis’s take will reportedly be a more faithful adaptation of the book.

If you’re unfamiliar with the ’90 movie, you can check out the trailer below.

[Source: Variety]

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