It might be time to recreate some magic! During a recent interview, Sarah Jessica Parker revealed that herself, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy are ready to return for HOCUS POCUS 2.
HOCUS POCUS was released in 1993 to so-so box office but the film went on to become a true cult classic and it's a mainstay of the Halloween season. A sequel has been in the works for years now, but it remains unclear who will be taking on the starring roles this time around. A Disney Channel movie was discussed in 2014 but that soon fizzled and in October of 2019, it was revealed that a sequel was moving forward on the Disney+ streaming service. Will the original trio of witches be involved? Sarah Jessica Parker had this to say about the sequel:
"I think that is something that Bette, Kathy, and I are very hospitable to the idea of and I think for a long time people had been talking about it as if people were moving forward with it in a real way but we were unaware of it. I think now we have gotten to the point where we all have agreed publicly to the right people that 'Yes, that would be a very, very fun idea.' So we'll see what the future holds."
The fact that Sarah Jessica Parker has publicly stated that it would be fun to get together again for a sequel bodes well for their possible return. Deals probably aren't done just yet and they probably can't really talk about how far talks have gone about the sequel but at least it seems they are involved in some capacity. Last October, Bette Midler talked about returning for a sequel and she seemed enthused about the idea as well:
"Oh my goodness me. Oh I hope they get to me before I'm a corpse. We wanna fly again. I hope Disney+ is a big success and I hope we get to do it, because [Winifred Sanderson] is, of course, one of my favorite characters. I mean she's, in the zeitgeist. I have met people â – I've met grownup people, like 40-year-olds, 50-year-olds â – who say, 'Oh I remember that! Hocus Pocus! I was brought up on that.' It's so mortifying 'cause I still look 35."
The only one of the trio that didn't sound as optimistic about the idea was Kathy Najimy. Last year when the Disney+ sequel news broke, Najimy said "I heard about it online the same time as [everyone else]. Sarah [Jessica Parker] and Bette and I all have a million projects and things that we're into, so I don't know if they're gonna offer us [roles]."
The first HOCUS POCUS followed a curious youngster that moves to Salem where he struggles to fit in. Soon he awakens a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century and while that plot description sounds pretty dire, hilarity does ensue across the film's 90-minute runtime.
Something tells me that the stars will align to get all three of them back for a sequel. Fans have wanted it for years and it would be silly if they weren't included because it would likely turn off fans of the original to not see Winifred, Sarah & Mary conjure up some spells again. The sequel is set to be directed by Adam Shankman and he is a huge fan of the original so I'm sure he'll make sure that we'll see the Sanderson sisters again.
Do YOU think a sequel could move forward without the original stars?