In “Hocus Pocus,” the Sanderson sisters are 17th century witches, conjured by unsuspecting pranksters in present-day Salem. The key to their immortality involves three children and a talking cat, who also turn out to be their biggest obstacles.
In “Hocus Pocus,” the Sanderson sisters are 17th century witches, conjured by unsuspecting pranksters in present-day Salem. The key to their immortality involves three children and a talking cat, who also turn out to be their biggest obstacles. Andrew Cooper, Disney Enterprises Inc.
Herb Scribner

By Herb Scribner

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“Hocus Pocus 2” just got its director, indicting the film may be even closer to arriving at Disney Plus, Variety reports.

What’s going on?

  • Adam Shankman will reportedly direct the new film for Disney Plus. He’s currently working on “Disenchanted” — the sequel to “Enchanted” — so it’s unclear which film will come next in the pipeline, according to Variety.
  • The original “Hocus Pocus” told the story of three witches — played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy — who wreck havoc on Salem, Massachusetts, when they are brought back to life.
  • Midler, Parker and Najimy are not attached to the film yet. But unnamed sources told Variety that the ideal scenario would be for them to star in the new project and it could be a sequel and not a reboot, according to Variety.

‘Hocus Pocus 2’ has been in the works for awhile

  • In October 2019, Deadline reportedly that Disney Plus wanted to bring “Hocus Pocus 2” to fruition. According to Collider: “Since the project is still in early development at Disney’s forthcoming streaming service, it remains unclear whether they’ll be the main characters, or whether we’ll see them pass the proverbial torch to a new generation of witches.”
  • In 2017, Disney Channel wanted to release a “Hocus Pocus” TV movie that would be a reboot of the original, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
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