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Anne Hathaway has closed a deal to star as the Grand High Witch in Robert Zemeckis and Warner Bros.’ “The Witches” adaptation.

Variety first reported that Hathaway was holding the offer for both that and “Sesame Street,” and at the time, scheduling for both films were holding up dealmaking. With those issues settled, Hathaway is now set to star in the role originally portrayed by Anjelica Huston in the 1990 classic.

Based on the 1973 novel, the film follows a 7-year-old boy who has a run in with real-life witches. Warner Bros. had previously adapted the book in 1990 with Huston playing one of the title characters, but sources close to the project say Zemeckis’ version will be more rooted in the original source material, while the Huston pic was a loose adaptation.

Zemeckis will also pen the script as well as produce with his partner Jack Rapke through their banner ImageMovers, along with Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro.

Hathaway is currently filming the untitled DuPont film at Participant. Hathaway and WB are coming off their summer hit “Ocean’s 8,” a spinoff of the “Ocean’s Eleven” movies. She can next be seen in the thriller “Serenity” and the comedy “The Hustle,” and recently wrapped production on the Netflix drama “The Last Thing He Wanted.”

She is repped by CAA and Management 360.

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Octavia Spencer is in talks to star opposite Anna Hathaway in Robert Zemeckis’ adaptation of "The Witches." Sources say “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris is on board to co-write the script with Zemeckis.

Newcomers Jahzir Bruno and Codie-Lei Eastick are also negotiations to join the cast, Variety has learned.

Based on the 1973 novel, the film follows a 7-year-old boy (Bruno) who has a run in with real-life witches. Warner Bros. had previously adapted the book in 1990 with Anjelica Huston playing one of the title characters, but sources close to the project say Zemeckis’ version will be more rooted in the original source material, while Huston’s version was a loose adaptation.

Spencer will play the grandmother of Bruno’s character, and Eastick is portraying the other boy who has a run in with the Witches.

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From Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump”) comes the fantasy adventure “Roald Dahl’s The Witches.” The film stars Oscar winners Anne Hathaway (“Les Misérable,” “Ocean’s 8”) and Octavia Spencer (“The Help,” “The Shape of Water”), Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (“The Hunger Games” films, “The Lovely Bones”), with Kristin Chenoweth (TV’s “Glee” and “BoJack Horseman”) and award-winning comedy legend Chris Rock. Newcomer Jahzir Kadeem Bruno (TV’s “Atlanta”) also stars, alongside Codie-Lei Eastick (“Holmes & Watson”).

Reimagining Dahl’s beloved story for a modern audience, Zemeckis’s visually innovative film tells the darkly humorous and heartwarming tale of a young orphaned boy (Bruno) who, in late 1967, goes to live with his loving Grandma (Spencer) in the rural Alabama town of Demopolis. As the boy and his grandmother encounter some deceptively glamorous but thoroughly diabolical witches, she wisely whisks our young hero away to an opulent seaside resort. Regrettably, they arrive at precisely the same time that the world’s Grand High Witch (Hathaway) has gathered her fellow cronies from around the globe—undercover—to carry out her nefarious plans.

Based on the book by Roald Dahl, the screenplay is by Robert Zemeckis & Kenya Barris (TV’s “black-ish,” “Shaft”) and Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro (“The Shape of Water”). Zemeckis is also producing, alongside Jack Rapke, del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and Luke Kelly. Serving as executive producers are Jacqueline Levine, Marianne Jenkins, Michael Siegel, Gideon Simeloff and Cate Adams.

Zemeckis’s behind-the-scenes team includes a roster of his frequent collaborators, including Oscar-nominated director of photography Don Burgess (“Forrest Gump”), production designer Gary Freeman, editors Jeremiah O’Driscoll and Ryan Chan, Oscar-nominated costume designer Joanna Johnston (“Allied,” “Lincoln”), and Oscar-nominated composer Alan Silvestri (“Polar Express,” “Forrest Gump”).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents, an Image Movers/Necropia/Experanto Filmoj Production, a Robert Zemeckis Film, “Roald Dahl’s The Witches.”

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