Disney has officially lit the Black Flame Candle on Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel movie to the beloved 1993 cult classic. Throughout Disney’s Investor Day event on Thursday evening, the company declared the long-awaited sequel, that was rumored for many years, is in the works and will premiere exclusively on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. A projected release date for the film has not yet been declared.
That during the event, Adam Shankman was verified to be directing. It was reported in March the Shankman, famous for directing 2007’s Hairspray, Measure Up, and A Walk to Remember had joined the job. Thursday’s affirmation of this film did not include any additional details, such as official casting, so it remains unclear whether the original Sanderson sisters – Bette Midler as Winifred, Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah, and Kathy Najimy as Mary – will probably reunite.
Midler previously revealed that she and her former Sanderson sister co-stars possess all agreed to go back for the sequel. Speaking with Fox 5 New York’s Good Day New York in October, she revealed individuals working on the film”asked us whether we were interested” in reprising their roles,” and of course most of us said .” Months before, Parker revealed that she, Midler, and Najimy” agreed publicly to the right people, yes, that would be a very, very interesting notion, so we’ll see what the future holds.”
- Advertisement -
Midler also recently demonstrated the sequel film is looking to bring back more components than simply the Sanderson sisters. Midler told PEOPLE in November she is hoping to reunite with all the creative team behind the first movie, describing, “we are trying to see who is available and who’s out there and still working and who will come back, because lots of the success of what we did on this picture had to do with the group that was surrounded, had to do with the team that they built to make that picture, the men and women who did the flying and the rigging, the men and women who did the green shows, the men and women who did the… I do not think they called it that the green show in those days. The men and women who did the hair and makeup, which were exemplary, the costumers, along with the special effects folks.”
Hocus Pocus made its theatrical debut in 1993, earning little to no commercial or critical success. Although it bombed at the box office, it quickly became a cult classic, with many calls for a sequel in the decades since its release. In October 2019, reports first surfaced that Hocus Pocus 2 was in the works.
