Meryl Streep Might Be Playing the Witch in Into The Woods, Just Start Molding her Oscar Now

We last heard that Disney’s Into the Woods movie was rolling into production over a year ago, with the director of 2002’s Chicago aboard to bring to life a version of the stage musical penned by its original writer. And that was exciting enough. But now, in an interview about his new stage musical, that writer, James Lapine, says that Meryl Streep is already on board.

There hasn’t been much development on the project beyond Disney’s initial press release a year ago. There’s no other half-way solid cast information (IMDB lists Allison Janney as rumored to be Jack’s Mother, though that’s never a particularly solid indication). But here’s what Lapine told the Litchfield County Times:

I am coming into an exciting time… My show, “The Road to Qatar,’ is being presented in London next month and then I am doing a revival of an old show, ‘Good News’ at the Goodspeed Opera House. And then the biggest news—they are doing a movie of the musical ‘Into the Woods.’ Disney is going to make the movie and I will do the arrangements. Meryl Streep will be the witch and it will be the first time I have worked with her since 1977 when we did ‘Happy End.

Of course, there’s been no official word at the moment from Disney, so this could mean anything from “casting is underway and Streep is in” to “Disney has had tentative first talks with her about appearing in the movie when it eventually rolls into production.” But we do so hope it’s the former. The Witch fo Sondheim’s meta-textual fairytale breakdown would be a great role for the actress, and her involvement in the project would signal that perhaps it’s reaching the last stages of pre-production and is actually guaranteed to hit theaters sometime in the next couple years.

For now, though, it’s not quite out of the w…

You know what, even I can’t go through with that one.

(via Cinema Blend.)