Octavia Spencer to star in Robert Zemeckis' 'The Witches'

Image Courtesy: Instagram

Los Angeles: Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer is in negotiations to star in Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The Witches".

The actor, best known for her roles in films such as "Hidden Figures" and "Shape of Water", will join Anne Hathaway in the film.

The project hails from studio Warner Bros and will be produced by Oscar-winning directors -- Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo del Toro, who was previously attached to direct but had to step aside due to scheduling issues.

The book follows a boy who stumbles upon a coven of child-hating witches he must stop, even though he has been turned into a mouse.

Hathaway, 36, is set to play the role of Grand Witch while Spencer, 46, is in the role of the boy's grandmother.