Hocus Pocus 2 Featurette Goes Behind the Scenes of Disney+ Return

Now just over a week from release, Disney Studios has unveiled a new featurette for Hocus Pocus 2, featuring the film’s lead trio as they lead fans on a behind-the-scenes look into the highly-anticipated sequel. Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker are all interviewed throughout the piece, which is then intertwined with footage previously made available through the film’s teasers.

“As soon as we walked on the set, the dynamic between the three of us was exactly the same as it was 30 years ago. It’s as if these characters lived with for those 30 years,” Midler says in the clip. Parker then adds, “It’s very special to be involved with something so meaningful in somebody’s life.”

"It was a real thrill to come back and play these characters."#HocusPocus2, an Original movie event, is streaming September 30 on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/0fh2Fmqujh

— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) September 21, 2022

Though the sequel follows the story of the first film, it is set nearly 30 years after the events of it. To the filmmakers behind the show, it was all about honoring the classic film the first feature has grown to be.

“We wanted to weave in all of the people that the fans loved, and when you sat back with all the ingredients and story, you’re like, how do we make this work?” filmmaker Anne Fletcher told Entertainment Weekly earlier this year. “It was very difficult to try to have them be a part of it, because we did talk about it — painstakingly. You’re trying to stay on track with story, even if they came in as a cameo.”

Fletcher continued, “People would say, ‘They could be in the background!’ and I’m like, really? You’re going to put the leads of the first movie in the background and be satisfied? You’re not going to be satisfied, you’re going to be angry.”

This time around, the Sanderson sisters (Midler, Najimy, and ParkeR) are targeting Becca (Gossip Girl‘s Whitney Peak), Cassie (Dirt‘s Lilia Buckingham), and Izzy (American Horror Stories‘ Belissa Escobedo). Other franchise newcomers include Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, Hannah Wadingham, Juju Brener, Froy Guiterrez, Taylor Henderson, and Nina Kitchen.

Hocus Pocus 2 premieres on Disney+ on September 30th.

Are you looking forward to the sequel? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!