DreamWorks Studios announced today that newcomer Ruby Barnhill has been cast as the young girl, Sophie, in Roald Dahl’s beloved classic story, The BFG. Steven Spielberg will direct the film adaptation of the children’s novel. Published in 1982, The BFG is the tale of a young London girl and the mysterious Giant who introduces her to the beauty and peril of Giant Country. Barnhill joins Mark Rylance who has been cast as the “Big Friendly Giant.” Spielberg will begin production on The BFG in early 2015 and it will open in U.S. theaters on July 1, 2016!