Kate McKinnon to Star in Amblin’s ‘The Lunch Witch’

Kate McKinnon is set to star in Amblin’s “The Lunch Witch,” sources confirmed to Variety.

Clay Kaytis is on board to direct.

Based on the book by Deb Lucke, the story follows Grunhilda, who has inherited generations worth of magical recipes. But when no one believes in magic anymore, she is forced to apply to be a school lunch lady, thanks to her knack for cooking up foul dishes.

While she spends most of her time scaring the children at the school while serving them lunch, Grunhilda accidentally befriends a shy girl who needs help both at school and at home, given her timidness, something a witch like Grunhilda has a tough time following through on.

Michael De Luca will produce via Michael De Luca Productions. Universal will distribute through their deal with Amblin.

McKinnon is coming off a busy year, helping reboot “Ghostbusters” at Sony as a new member of the team, winning an Emmy for her work on “Saturday Night Live,” and opening the new Amblin comedy “Office Christmas Party.” Her imitation of Hillary Clinton on “SNL” also garnered much attention during the election cycle.

She is repped by UTA and Principato-Young. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

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