Hocus Pocus is finally making a comeback; Credits: Telegrapher

No spooky season can be considered complete without watching Hocus Pocus, right? How many years pass; we Hocus Pocus fans flood the movie every Halloween. While we will never get bored of watching the OG movie, it is a particular thrill to think that a new Hocus Pocus movie could be released any time soon!

Well, lucky for every Halloween and Hocus Pocus lover out there, because the most classy Halloween movie out there is finally going to make a return with a second movie added to its franchise! 

The original Hocus Pocus movie was released back in 1993 and continues to be a fan favorite for nearly three decades. The story featured the return of three evil witch sisters who entertain the classic wish of getting to stay young forever and attain immortality. After having been burnt at stake, the three sisters are now ready to take revenge on their town that had burned them three hundred years ago, and as Max, played by Omri Katz, lights the black flame candle, the witch sisters return stronger than ever. 

The evil sisters are Winnifred Sanderson, played by Bette Midler, Sarah Sanderson, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, and Mary Sanderson, played by Kathy Najimy. They are finally defeated by Max, and his friends, as he hinders their sinister plans of sucking the lives of all the children of Salem in their bid to live young forever. 

Max is helped by his sister, Dani, portrayed by Thora Birch, who is first captured by the sisters due to Max's negligence. Along with him is also his new beau Allison, played by Vanessa Shaw, and a talking cat Thackery Binx, voiced by Jason Marsden. The cat is actually the Human Thackery, who is stuck in the animal form due to the sisters' spell and is played by Sean Murray in the human form. The film also stars Doug Jones, who gets to play Billy Butherson, a zombie.  

The three original witch actresses will reprise their roles for the new release; Credits: Fox News

Now, three decades later, the original Sanderson sisters are once again to be played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. 

While the film has been in talks for many years, it was quite a pleasant surprise for fans to know that the rumors were finally turning into reality. The film's old cast had wished for too long for the film to come back with its sequel. Midler had shared her excitement about hearing that the film could make a comeback and relayed her hopes for wanting to be cast as Winnifred Sanderson again. In an interview with Us Weekly in October 2019, she said, "I heard it's going to be fabulous. I hope they hire me because I want to fly again in the worst way."

The other Sanderson sister, played by Parker, also shared that she and the fellow co-stars Midler and Najimy were "hospitable to the idea" of getting to play the witches again. 

The Sex and the City actress talked about playing the role again and said that it would be fun. She told Bruce Bozz on Sirius XM's Quarantined with Bruce, "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." "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," the actress added. 

The actresses had recently come together for the New York Restoration Project back in October 2000, and that made the rumors fly even high. Fans have been demanding the three to be cast in the Hocus Pocus remake, and finally, in May 2021, Disney+ conceded that the second Hocus Pocus movie is finalized!

Bette Midler had to share her joy in the classic Winnifred Sanderson style and took to her Instagram to share the wonderful news with her fans. She wrote: "Sistaaaahs! It's been 300 years… But we're BACK! 🧹 #HocusPocus2 arrives Fall 2022 on @DisneyPlus.

While everyone is really happy for the original three actresses to come back again, fans are also wondering if the OG Max and Allison actors will get to make a comeback, too. Vanessa Shaw herself was skeptical about their reunion on the sets of Hocus Pocus 2 but revealed that she thinks that Max and Allison could still be together in the Hocus Pocus universe.

Shaw told Entertainment Tonight in October this year, "I feel like she and Max are still together, but I think Allison’s from Salem, and he always wants to be in California. 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."

Here is everything more about Hocus Pocus 2:-

When will Hocus Pocus be released?

The new Hocus Pocus cast stars, Hannah Waddingham from Ted Lasso; Credits: Variety

The second Hocus Pocus movie is set to release just in time for the onset of the spooky season in Fall 2022. Disney+ announced that the film will be featuring a refreshed trope of the Sanderson sisters, and the cast will feature several new faces like Hannah Waddingham, the Emmy winner from Ted Lasso, and Tony Hale from Arrested Development. 

The rest of the cast will be featuring Sam Richardson, Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, Bellisa Escobedo, Doug Jones, Juju Brener, Froy Gutierrez, Taylor Henderson, and Nina Kitchen. The production House had made its initial plans of releasing a Hocus Pocus sequel back in December 2020 at the Disney Investors Event. Adam Shankman, aged 56, was then selected for the direction of the film. the filmmaker relayed he felt "incredibly honored and humbled to be guiding forward these two Disney crown jewel legacy." He shared his elation through his Instagram handle, where he wrote: "My only hope is to honor those who came before me and build something new and exciting, as I desperately try to not let down the fans and enchant the new initiates!"

Back when Hocus Pocus was just the stuff of fan fantasies and dreams, and nothing concrete was said for the renewal of the Halloween film, Vanessa Shaw had shared the lack of a new Hocus Pocus film 'disappointing.' While she told Entertainment Tonight that she hadn't "heard anything" about the making of a new film but she "would love" to be a part of the next film. 

The 45-year-old star said, "I know, it's so disappointing. I would love to do the sequel. It would be so much fun. I think there's just a different storyline with younger people, but why can't we all come back in some way?"

Vanessa Shaw wishes to play Allison again; Credits: Digital Spy

Midler herself is greatly pleased with the making of the Hocus Pocus 2 and told she had to pick her jaw from the floor after she heard the news. In October 2020, she told People, "They presented us with an outline, and after we picked ourselves up off the floor because it's been 27 years, we looked at it, and I think all of us agreed that it was pretty great."