Hocus Pocus Star Bette Midler Says Story for Sequel Is “Pretty Great”

Reports about a Hocus Pocus sequel have been appearing for more than a year, and, while her official involvement has yet to be announced, original star Bette Midler recently shared her praise for the outline of the story that is currently being developed. One of the only confirmed details about the project’s development was that Disney hired director Adam Shenkman earlier this year, though it’s unclear what narrative the new film could follow. While Midler herself has implied that she and her co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are on board for the new film, these details have yet to be officially confirmed by the studio.

“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,” Midler shared with People.

Despite the enthusiasm of the Sanderson Sisters, Midler noted that they hoped to enlist more key components that made that original 1993 film a success.

“We’re trying to see who’s available and who’s still out there and still working and who can come back,” the actress admitted. “Because, a lot of the success of what we did on that picture had to do with the team that was surrounded, had to do with the team that they assembled to make that picture, the people who did the flying and the rigging, the people who did the green screens, the people who did the … I don’t think they called it the green screen in those days. The people who did the hair and makeup, which were all exemplary, the costumers, and the special effects people.”

Midler isn’t the only one who knows how special the original film was, with original writer Mick Garris previously detailing how important the original trio of actresses was to the film’s success.

“I’m excited about [the sequel], but I really think the main reason the movie worked was the Sanderson Sisters, those actresses in those roles, those performances, that I think is the key to that movie’s long life,” Garris shared with ComicBook.com. “It was only modestly successful when it came out, at best. And I think they are the reasons that it’s still around since it came out in 1993. And I would love to see them return in it. I think that’s the plan, but I don’t know. I heard that that is what’s happening, and I believe it’s going to be for Disney+, but I’m not involved in it, which is fine. You don’t always want to revisit all of the touchstones of your past.”

Stay tuned for details on the Hocus Pocus sequel.

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