In a recent interview with The New York Times, Walt Disney Pictures’ president, Sean Bailey, confirmed that Hocus Pocus 3 is officially happening – with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reprising their iconic role as the witchy Sanderson Sisters. What’s more, the producers are said to be working on securing more actors from the 1993 original to join the cast!
Okay, so, we’re like internally screaming here, but let’s take a step back and explain why.
It’s hard to believe that when the first Hocus Pocus film was released in cinemas in 1993, it was a flop, but it’s true. In fact, it lost Disney some $16.5 million. It seems like the mix of fantasy and comedy, and the somewhat cliched witchy sisters being brought back from the grave (and then killed) by a virgin on Halloween was not what cinemagoers were after.
Then, Disney started airing the film on its own TV channel and, all of a sudden, the film developed a cult following, becoming as much a part of Halloween traditions as Jack-o’-lanterns. This new following among millennials meant that when Disney announced its new streaming service – Disney+ – Hocus Pocus became an obvious story to revisit, and it paid off.
Hocus Pocus 2, which once again had Midler, Parker, and Najimy in the title roles, broke records in a pretty impressive way. In its opening weekend, it was viewed for 2.7 billion minutes and became the platform’s most watched original film. What’s even better is that this sequel was actually really good. Sure, it was obvious, but that’s what most viewers want from such films, so it totally works!
At this point in time, we don’t know many other details about the production but there is something that is really exciting, and that is that Omri Katz and Vinessa Shaw may reprise their roles as Max Dennison and Allison Watts, respectively. These are the two teenagers who became the unlikely heroes in the original movie and seeing them on screen, in Salem, alongside the Sanderson Sisters might very well make our hearts burst with joy and nostalgia.
So, here’s us sending plenty of good energy into the universe in the hopes of making it happen!
