There's still no junior cast for The Seventh Son, but following the news that Jeff Bridges will be turning out as demon-hunter Master Gregory (aka The Spook) comes confirmation that Julianne Moore will be donning the black pointy hat as chief witch Mother Malkin.

This isn't a potential Suspiria (or even a Lords of Salem) though, since The Seventh Son is based on The Spook's Apprentice, the first of Joseph Delaney's kid's fantasy Wardstone Chronicles. It involves farmboy Tom, who can see the supernatural, and embarks on his exorcising adventures when he comes under the tutelage of Gregory. Mother Malkin is their first major adversary, although it's not the first time Gregory has encountered her: he buried her in a pit covered with magic-countering iron bars years before. That kind of half-arsed temporary solution never turns out well.

Previous talk was of Alex Pettyfer as Tom and Jennifer Lawrence as Alice, the daughter of Mother Malkin who may or may not be following in her mother's footsteps. Lawrence has now signed for The Hunger Games though, and Pettyfer is also off the agenda, so expect the next round of casting announcements shortly.

Whether the Wardstone Chronicles will come anywhere close to replacing Harry Potter as Warner Bros' new fantasy franchise remains to be seen. With Moore and Bridges both fresh from stonking turns in, respectively, The Kids Are All Right and True Grit, the adult backbone of The Seventh Son is certainly shaping up well. But then, John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons were in Eragon, so let's not get too excited just yet.

Sergey Bodrov (Mongol) is directing, for a 2013 release.