“It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus.” 

Come, we fly! The beloved Walt Disney Pictures film “Hocus Pocus” returns to the screen nearly 30 years later, with the sequel “Hocus Pocus 2.” Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy will be returning to reprise their roles as Winifred, Sarah, and Mary. The original movie was released in July of 1993 and film critics were not the most pleased with the result. It wasn’t until the mid-2000s when Hocus Pocus was declared a Halloween classic. A lot of the viewers stated that people only enjoyed the film because of the nostalgia it held for those kids. Even though the first installment didn’t leave off on a cliffhanger, fans craved more iconic moments, spooktacular song and dance scenes, and the Sanderson sisters themselves. The development of the sequel dates back to 2017. The writer for Hocus Pocus admitted on social media that he was writing a script for a second installment. Although he was writing a sequel, Disney at that point had not greenlit the idea, so no further progression could occur. In July of 2018, a book was published as a “sequel” for the film titled, Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel. The book followed the story of Max and Allison’s daughter, Poppy. The novel did well when it came to sales and fans’ perception with 90% of readers enjoying it. The Sailors (Hocus Pocus fandom name) didn’t count the novel as canon to the original story. It wasn’t until October 2019 that the sequel would officially be in development and would be released as a Disney+ exclusive film with Jen D’Angelo to write this spooktacular story. 

As the clock ticks down to the day the sequel is set to release, the official synopsis states, “Three young women accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern-day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world.” In March of 2020, Adam Shankman signed on to direct. After Disney officially greenlit the film, the Sanderson sisters spoke out and expressed an interest in reprising their roles and bringing them back to life and wreaking havoc on Salem. In September 2020, Bette Midler was in talks to reprise her role as Winifred. As October rolled around, it was announced that Midler, Parker, and Najimy would be returning as the wickedly glamorous witches. Filming began in October 2021 in Rhode Island and it concluded in January of 2022. Throughout those months, many fans leaked images of the set earlier in production. After filming finished in January, not much more was said about the film. In the summer of 2022, it was revealed that Hocus Pocus 2 will be released on Disney+ on September 30, 2022. On June 28, 2022, the first teaser trailer for the film was released on social media platforms. As months went on, posters and interviews but no official trailer was shown. Fans assumed that a trailer would be released during Disney’s D23 Expo convention. Their assumptions were proven true and the official trailer was released on the weekend of September 8, 2022. 

Interviews were released about the new installment with Bette Midler during the week of 9/26-9/30. She talks about the dynamic between her, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy and how it was exactly the same as it was 30 years ago. Midler said that these characters have lived with them since the first installment. Najimy chimed in and expressed how it was not a difficult transition to step back into those boots. The three of them all felt like they never left and they were picking up right where the first one left off. So, in theory, why should you watch Hocus Pocus 2? As Bette Midler says, because the Sanderson sisters will come for you.