Deadline reports Lucy Davis (Wonder Woman) has been cast as Hilda Spellman opposite lead Kiernan Shipka for the upcoming adaptation of Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Hilda is known as being the more nurturing and kinder of Sabrina’s two witch aunts with her sister, Zelda, taking more of an authoritative role in the young witch’s life. Caroline Rhea portrayed the character in the 1996 ABC/WB series opposite Beth Broderick’s Zelda and Melissa Joan Hart’s titular character Sabrina.
The upcoming series, based on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, is from Riverdale creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. TV and will stream on Netflix. It is set to take a darker turn on the iconic character from the Archie comics series as Deadline describes it as a re-imagining of “the origin and adventures of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (Shipka) as a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror, the occult and, of course, witchcraft.” It is reportedly going to be in the tone of psychological horror classics Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist as the adaptation “finds Sabrina wrestling to reconcile her dual nature — half-witch, half-mortal — while standing against the evil forces that threaten her, her family and the daylight world humans inhabit.”
Davis recently made a splash for her portrayal of the lovable Etta Candy in Wonder Woman opposite Gal Gadot. She’s also known for her role in the British series The Office and for portraying Dianne in Shaun of the Dead.
The upcoming Netflix Sabrina adaptation has no release date as of yet.
