Anya Taylor-Joy Denies Disney Project to Star in The Witch

Actress recalls that proposals were made on the same day

Anya Taylor-Joy has it all! In a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the actress revealed that she turned down a project for the Disney Channel to be the protagonist of the acclaimed horror The Witch.

“I remember it was the same day I was asked to be in a Disney Channel pilot,” Taylor told the magazine. “It was so exciting to receive anything that I ran around the house like crazy.”

Despite the emotion, the artist says that she had a good feeling and that she decided to choose the film directed by Robert Eggers. “I had a really good feeling about The Witch that made me give up the Disney experience for something that felt unfamiliar to me, something that felt sacred.”

The Witch had a hot premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015. Made with US$ 4 million, the feature was an absolute success, raising more than US$ 40 million worldwide.

Set in the year 1630, the plot revolves around a farmer expelled from his land and who is forced to move with his family to a small plot of land next to a sinister forest. The place, according to an urban legend, would be controlled by witches. Almost immediately, strange and inexplicable things begin to happen – animals turn violent, crops fail and one of the children disappears, returning possessed by an unknown evil.

In addition to Anya, the cast also includes Ralph Ineson, Katie Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson and Ellie Grainger.