After 29 years, the Sanderson sisters are finally coming back, and their return is anticipated with tremendous excitement (albeit perhaps not by the residents of Salem, Massachusetts that they plan to cast their dastardly spells on). Fans of the original Hocus Pocus have spent decades requesting a sequel starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, and at long last Hocus Pocus 2 will be premiering this fall. There are great expectation for wonderful and creepy on-screen magic in the movie – and executive producer Adam Shankman makes it sound like there was plenty of magic on the set of the sequel as well.
Shankman recently got the opportunity to hype audiences for Hocus Pocus 2 via an interview with People, and it seems his primary mode of doing so was celebrating the reunion of the movie's three biggest stars/antagonists. The filmmaker essentially likened Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy being back together as a kind of time travel, and it sounds like it didn't take any effort whatsoever for them to recreate their characters' wonderful dynamic. Said Shankman,
[It was] like a snap back in time, as if time had not [passed]. They were just laughing, laughing, laughing. ... It was easy. Kathy, Sarah and Bette have known each other since they made the movie ... so [there] was nothing but giddiness. I think there was a little bit of, like, 'Wow, are we really doing this again?'
Just looking at the image from Hocus Pocus 2 at the top of this article is somewhat surreal, as the brilliant costuming and make-up perfectly illustrate the idea that no time at all has passed for these characters. Hopefully someone was running a camera behind the scenes when all three of them first arrived on set in full wardrobe as Winifred, Sarah and Mary, and hopefully we'll get to enjoy that footage either before or after the sequel's arrival. (One would expect it to be just as wholesome as Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy's trailer reaction video)
Directed by Anne Fletcher, Hocus Pocus 2 is a real-time sequel in the sense that the story will pick up 29 years after the heroes from the original lit the legendary Black Flame candle and then defeated the Sanderson sisters (stopping them from magically stealing the youth from the children of Salem). Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, and Belissa Escobedo will play a new trio of teenagers who accidentally resurrect the terrible witches, and the responsibility falls to stop their nefarious plotting before it's too late.
The debut teaser trailer for Hocus Pocus 2 landed online last month, and you can give it a watch below:
In addition to featuring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, Doug Jones is back reprising his role as the undead Billy Butcherson, and new cast members include Tony Hale and Sam Richardson. You can learn more about the new Hocus Pocus movie with our Quick Things guide.
Hocus Pocus 2 will be premiere online on September 30, but don't wait until then to pick up a Disney+ subscription. You can not only watch the first movie to prepare for the sequel, but there are plenty of other great original and classic Disney films on the streaming service.
To discover all of the new movies heading to theaters and streaming between now and the end of December, head over to our 2022 Movie Release Calendar.
