Halloween may have come and gone, but that does not mean that it’s too early to start thinking about next Halloween! Or witches, trick-or-treating, candy apples, costumes, and Halloween parties! It’s especially not too early to start thinking about Disney’s third installment of one of its most popular Halloween franchises of all time — Hocus Pocus.
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The original film was released in 1993 and starred Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker Winifred, Mary, and Sarah Sanderson — three wickedly funny witches who are brought back to life when a virgin lights the Black Flame Candle. In order to stay young forever, the sisters must suck the lives out of the children of Salem. However, they meet their match in the form of two teenagers, a young girl, and talking cat, and a good zombie.
Originally, Hocus Pocus wasn’t a massive hit, but over the years it has gained a cult-like following. Finally, in September 2022, Disney released Hocus Pocus 2. The Sanderson sisters returned to Salem, but had to battle three teenagers, one of whom had powers of her own.
One of the great things about Hocus Pocus 2 is that, for the first time, fans were able to see the Sanderson sisters as children. They learned what the sisters went through. Maybe most importantly, fans met The Witch Mother, played by Hannah Waddingham. The Witch Mother is the one who gave Winifred her beloved spell book.
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Hocus Pocus 2 was wildly successful and, in June, Disney confirmed that a third film was in the works. We didn’t know much about it, but there were rumors that the Sanderson sisters would NOT be back.
However, if Hocus Pocus 3 writer Jen D’Angelo has her way, that might not be the case.
D’Angelo spoke to Entertainment Weekly and gave some more details on her hopes for the film.
D’Angelo says she’s currently working on continuing the story of the Sanderson Sisters witches with “full idealism” over the potential return of Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy in the third film.
“We’re still in the story phase, we’re still working on it. We’ve been working on some ideas, and it’s been fun to dive back into that world and we have so many directions in which to go and so many new characters to explore,” D’Angelo says, going on to tease her interest in expanding on a key character from the 2022 sequel. “We’ve only scratched the surface of Hannah Waddingham’s mother witch.”
D’Angelo also revealed that Mother Witch is the mother that is referenced more than once in the original film. D’Angelo called their relationship with the Mother Witch “significant” and says that it’s possible we will see more of it in the third film.
In Hocus Pocus, you may remember that Winifred, Mary, and Sarah form a calming circle. During that time, they mention things that help them relax, including their mother’s scorpion pie. Then they all breathe in and out as they remember their mother.
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At this point, the world is D’Angelo’s oyster. There are so many stories that she can explore with the third movie. Many expect that the three teenage girls introduced in the second movie will reappear in the third.
Belissa Escobedo played Izzy, Lilia Buckingham played Cassie, and Whitney Peak starred as Becca — a young teenager who discovers that the Sanderson sisters are not the only witches in Salem.
D’Angelo said that she was so intrigued by the actresses who played the young Sanderson sisters and would love to see them come back. She said she wants to dig deeper into their stories and take them “on a bunch of fun adventures.”
She also said that she is fully aware of the incredible nostalgia that fans have for the first film. D’Angelo wants to honor that with the new movie, but also doesn’t want to make it look like she is just trying to complete a checklist of nostalgic moments.
