It has been nearly thirty years since the first Hocus Pocus came and went in theatres, and the film’s cult following has been growing year by year over those decades. The following is so large now, fans are finally getting a Hocus Pocus 2 – and the sequel has officially wrapped production! Star Better Midler took to her Twitter account last week to announce that filming is complete. We’ve been hearing that Hocus Pocus 2 will be released through the Disney+ streaming service sometime this fall, and producer Adam Shankman has confirmed on his Instagram that we can expect the film to be released just in time for Halloween 2022.
Directed by Anne Fletcher from a screenplay by Jen D’Angelo (Workaholics), Hocus Pocus 2 sees Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker reprising the roles of the Sanderson Sisters. The film has the following synopsis:
Picking up 29 years after a teen named Max lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the three 17th-century child-essence-stealing sorceresses, Winifred (Midler), Sarah (Parker), and Mary (Najimy) are now looking for revenge. With the Sanderson Sisters back to terrorize Salem, it’s up to three high school students to stop them. How do you do that? By summoning the wrath of an enchantress, of course.
Those three high school students are Becca (Whitney Peak, Gossip Girl), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham, Dirt), and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo, American Horror Stories). Also in the cast are Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) Tony Hale (Veep), Sam Richardson (Werewolves Within), Juju Brener (Vanquish), Froy Gutierrez (Teen Wolf), Taylor Paige (Earwig and the Witch), and newcomer Nina Kitchen. Doug Jones will be reprising the role of Billy Butcherson as well.
Directed by Kenny Ortega from a screenplay credited to Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert (and based on story Garris crafted with David Kirschner), the first Hocus Pocus was about
a trio of witch sisters who have been cursed since 1963. The fearsome threesome is inadvertently resurrected 300 years later by a boy whose family has moved from Los Angeles to Salem. As they attempt to acclimate to the 20th century, they are horrified to discover that Halloween has become a holiday.
Are you thirlled Hocus Pocus 2 will release on Halloween this year?