I put a spell on you! Nearly three decades after Hocus Pocus premiered in 1993, fans continue to watch the Halloween classic on repeat — and can’t wait for more.
In the original movie, Max (Omri Katz) lights the black flame candle, bringing Winnifred Sanderson (Bette Midler) and her sisters, Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy), back to life. Luckily, Max is successful in defeating the Sanderson sisters on their mission to suck the lives out of all the children in Salem in hopes of becoming younger and living forever.
His plan is only successful, however, thanks to the help of his sister, Dani (Thora Birch), new flame Allison (Vinessa Shaw) and cat Thackery Binx (voiced by Jason Marsden). The Halloween favorite also starred Sean Murray as the human Thackery and Doug Jones as zombie Billy Butcherson.
Over the years, the cast has teased a possible second film, with Midler exclusively telling Us Weekly in October 2019, “I heard it’s going to be fabulous.” The Beaches star then joked, “I hope they hire me because I want to fly again in the worst way.”
Parker explained in May 2020 that she and fellow costars Midler and Najimy were “hospitable to the idea” of reprising their witch roles in the future.
“I think for a long time, people were talking about it as if people were moving forward with it in a real way but we were unaware of it,” the Sex and the City actress told Bruce Bozz on Sirius XM’s Quarantined with Bruce at the time. “I think now we’ve gotten to the point where we all, like, agreed publicly to the right people, [saying], ‘Yes! That would be a very, very fun idea.’ So, we’ll see. We’ll see what the future holds.”
After the actresses reunited in October 2020 in support of the New York Restoration Project, fans were even more determined to get a new movie from the ladies. In May 2021, Disney+ announced the official return of the Sanderson sisters for the upcoming film, Hocus Pocus 2.
“Sistaaaahs! It’s been 300 years… But we’re BACK! 🧹 #HocusPocus2 arrives Fall 2022 on @DisneyPlus,” Midler confirmed via Instagram at the time.
Five months later, Shaw revealed where she thinks her character Allison and love interest Max would be now, hinting that they could come back for the sequel.
“I feel like she and Max are still together, but I think Allison’s from Salem and he always wants to be in California,” she told Entertainment Tonight in October 2021. “I think they did some sort of compromise and maybe she’s in Salem when the witches come back, you know, visiting her mom or something.”
Scroll down to see what we know about the second Hocus Pocus film:
