Stay away from tainted chocolate bars! The long-awaited remake of the beloved 1990 movie The Witches finally has a trailer, and surprising plans for a release. Robert Zemeckis' new take on Roald Dahl's novel, starring Anne Hathaway as The Grand High Witch, will premiere exclusively on HBO Max on Oct. 22.
The trailer for The Witches should feel familiar to fans of the original novel or the 1990 film. As in its predecessors, it follows a boy (Jahzir Kadeem Bruno) and his grandmother (Octavia Spencer), who cross paths with a powerful coven of witches at a hotel. The witches, led by Hathaway's Grand High Witch, plan on using tainted chocolate bars to turn children into mice, who will then be exterminated.
In fact, the most surprising thing about the trailer is the reveal that The Witches is coming to HBO Max this month. The film had previously been delayed amid the coronavirus pandemic, and was scheduled to hit theaters in 2021. Now, audiences will be able to see it on somewhat smaller screens a lot sooner, and right in time for what is likely to be a more indoorsy Halloween than usual.
As Collider notes, the new iteration of The Witches is not exactly a remake so much as a new adaptation of the book, but it looks close enough to the film that scarred a generation of '90s kids to at least feel like a reboot. And on that front, it's only the latest reimagining of a much loved '90s movie on the horizon. Read on for a look at the other '90s sequels and reboots coming your way. And for more 1990 movies we remember fondly, here are 30 Beloved Movies You Won't Believe Are 30 Years Old.
1 | The Craft
Columbia PicturesThe Witches is actually the second witch-centric '90s remake to get a trailer this week. Written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, The Craft: Legacy will portray a new quartet of teenage witches, played by Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, and Zoey Luna. The trailer for the reboot, which was released Sept. 29, also includes a fleeting glimpse of Fairuza Balk's Nancy Downs from the original film, albeit in a photo.
That's not the only reference to the 1996 Craft either. In fact, The Craft: Legacy looks an awful lot like its predecessor, which is why it's a sequel that could also be called a remake. There are glamours, bindings, and another game of "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board." There's even a callback to one of The Craft's most iconic quotes: "We are the weirdos, mister." And for a look back at more '90s horror classics, check out our Ranking of Every '90s Horror Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
2 | She's All That
Miramax FilmsThe remake of She's All That will get a gender swap and a new title: He's All That. The new take on the '90s teen movie classic will be about an influencer, played by TikTok star Addison Rae, who tries to turn a nerdy boy into prom king.
3 | Clueless
Paramount PicturesDon't look for Cher Horowitz in the Clueless reboot series coming to NBC streamer Peacock. The mystery-tinged show will instead focus on Dionne, who becomes the most popular girl in school when Cher goes missing. And to see how the critics felt about more of your fave teen flicks, here's our Ranking of Every '90s Teen Movie, From Worst Reviewed to Best.
4 | Scream
Paramount PicturesMatt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the team behind Ready or Not, will helm Scream 5, which is scheduled to hit theaters in Jan. 2022. Neve Campbell is the latest cast member confirmed to return, alongside Courteney Cox and David Arquette. And for more iconic horror films, these are The Best Horror Films of All Time, According to Critics.
5 | Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
Warner Bros. PicturesThe cult fave Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead will get a "diverse remake" with a modern-day version focused on a Black family. “We look forward to bringing audiences a new interpretation that is as funny and outrageous as the original but also smart and connected to the world today," Treehouse Pictures president Justin Nappi told Deadline.
6 | The Matrix
Warner Bros.The long-awaited follow-up to the Matrix trilogy—The Matrix 4—will hit theaters in April 2022, following a pandemic-induced production delay. Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith are reprising their roles. And for another '90s flashback, revisit these '90s TV Shows You've Completely Forgotten About.
7 | Candyman
TriStar PicturesLike The Craft: Legacy, the new Candyman movie is part-sequel, part-reboot. And it was also scheduled for an October release before being pushed back because of COVID. Nia DaCosta's highly anticipated take on the horror classic will now hit theaters at some point in 2021.
8 | The Mighty Ducks
Buena Vista PicturesEmilio Estevez is back as Gordon Bombay in the upcoming reboot of The Mighty Ducks, which will be a TV series streaming on Disney+. The show will give Gordon a new team of misfits to coach. And for more fun content delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
9 | A League of Their Own
Columbia PicturesThere's no crying in baseball, but there may be some happy tears when Amazon Prime begins streaming their new iteration of A League of Their Own. The series, which will star D'Arcy Carden and Abbi Jacobson, "takes a deeper look at race and sexuality, following the journey of a whole new ensemble of characters as they carve their own paths towards the field, both in the League and outside of it," according to Amazon.
