WILL FERRELL - HANSEL AND GRETEL HORROR-COMEDY SET FOR BIG SCREEN

HANSEL AND GRETEL HORROR-COMEDY SET FOR BIG SCREEN

Anchorman writers Will Ferrell and Adam Mackay plan to put an occult twist on a classic children's tale with a new take on Hansel and Gretel.

The pair are to produce Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, a horror comedy written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, the man behind Sundance hit Dead Snow (which featured Nazi zombies).

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wirkola plans a sequel of sorts to the Brothers Grimm's story of the brother and sister lured towards a witch's gingerbread house.

Picking up some 15 years after the siblings' run-in with a murderous crone, Wirkola's film will see Hansel and Gretel as fully-fledged bounty hunters, who specialise in dispensing of witches.

"It's a hybrid sort of old-timey feeling, yet there's pump-action shotguns," McKay explained.

"Modern technology but in an old style. We heard it and we were just like, 'That's a freakin' franchise! You could make three of those!'"

Producer Kevin Messick, who brought the project to McKay and Ferrell's Gary Sanchez Productions, will produce Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters alongside the pair and Paramount's Chris Henchy.

"Kevin Messick knows how to put together movies as well as how to make them," McKay added. "He's one of the best producers I have ever worked with, and the fact that he only asked for $8,000 a year shows his commitment to filmmaking."

Wirkola is to complete the script for his unique take on classic children's lore while McKay and Henchy complete the script for Ferrell's upcoming action comedy The B Team.