Emma Thompson cast to play Miss Trunchbull in Matilda

Pam Ferris played Miss Trunchbull in the 1996 adaptation. Photo / Supplied

Emma Thompson has been cast as Miss Trunchbull, in the screen-adaptation of the musical Matilda.

Miss Trunchbull is the terrifying headmistress who bullied schoolgirls, occasionally swinging them around by their pigtails.

"The best gender to play a woman, should be a woman," an executive on the film told the Daily Mail.

Alisa Weir will play the titular role, with Matthew Warchus - who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company production and has been developing the screen adaptation - said it was a "huge role" for the 11-year-old, who got the part after an "unforgettable audition".

Emma Thompson will play Miss Trunchbull. Photo / Getty Images

The young star has won awards for singing and has appeared in the Irish TV drama Darklands.

Warchus said Matilda was about "a kid who stands up for what's right, against what's wrong; and I think those values are very important to all of us".

Warchus explained that in the theatre, Matilda "trades in a kind of colourful cartoon energy," but recognises that film is the more realistic medium.

"It's part of that whole reconceiving of the story, that Trunchbull can now be played by a woman," he explained to the publication.

Early last year, Ralph Fiennes had been considered for the part.

Matilda is based on Roald Dahl's 1988 novel.

The musical was an instant hit when it opened in November 2010.

The past few years has seen Warchus and his colleagues working with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner (of Working Title), and Jon Finn and Luke Kelly (The Roald Dahl Story Company), to adapt the play for the screen.

The screen-adaptation will be streamed on Netflix worldwide.