"Finding Dory" voice actress Kate McKinnon is set to star in Amblin Partners' family fantasy "The Lunch Witch." "The Angry Birds" director Clay Kaytis is on board to direct.
According to Deadline, McKinnon has been set to play the titular character Grunhilda in "The Lunch Witch." She inherits her famous ancestors' magical recipes and cauldron. She is forced to apply to be a school lunch lady when no one believes in magic anymore since her only useful skill is cooking up foul dishes.
In the plot of "The Lunch Witch," Grunhilda spends most of her time scaring the children at the school while serving lunch, Variety reported. As a result, she accidentally befriends a shy girl with a big set of glasses named Madison needing help both in school and at home due to her timidity. She has a tough time following through on because helping people go against everything she believes in as a witch.
"The Lunch Witch" is based on the Deb Lucke's YA novel of the same name. It also makes Kaytis' live-action directing debut. The film casting comes as McKinnon opens in the Amblin/Paramount ensemble comedy "Office Christmas Party."
Michael De Luca will produce "The Lunch Witch" via Michael De Luca Productions. Universal will distribute through their deal with Amblin.
McKinnon is coming off a busy year with helping reboot "Ghostbusters" at Sony as a new member of the team and winning an Emmy for her work on "Saturday Night Live." Her most recent imitation of Hillary Clinton on "SNL" also garnered much attention during the election.
Kaytis also worked as an animator on such films as "Frozen," "Tangled," and "Wreck-It Ralph." His famous "Angry Birds" took flight with a $346 million worldwide gross for Sony. He is represented by WME and Primary Wave Entertainment.
"The Lunch Witch" has no release date yet.
Watch the video about Kate McKinnon as USA Today Entertainer of the year:
