Patricia Arquette to play witch in movie and TV series

Oscar-winning actress Patricia Arquette is to lend her voice to a witch character in the animated movie and TV series Troll: The Rise of Harry Potter, Jr., SC Films International said.

The project is not related in any way to J.K Rowling's series of Harry Potter books or Warner Bros.' Harry Potter film franchise. The producers of the Troll remake pointed out the characters of Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Jr. and his family appeared in the original, 1986 live-action film Troll, which was independently created and distributed 11 years before Rowling's first Harry Potter book was written and published.

John Carl Buechler, who penned and directed the original Troll film, has agreed to co-produce the new, full-length, 3D animated feature along with Peter Davy. The nearly three-decade-old fan favorite starred Noah Hathaway, Michael Moriarty, Shelley Hack, June Lockhart and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

"The original Troll film has achieved cult status, and based upon its success we believed that the timing was right to produce an updated 3D animated version for a whole new generation of filmgoers," Buechler said in a statement.

"We are already in pre-production. We have the financing in place and a strong international distributor. We are envisioning a series of animated sequels along with an animated TV series," Davy added.

"We are hugely excited by this project. We see a 3D animated Troll as having tremendous commercial value and huge appeal for family audiences worldwide," remarked Simon Crowe, chief executive officer of SC Films International.

The TV series is expected to go into production for broadcast next year. The film is slated for release in early 2017.