Nearly 30 years after the release of 1993’s Hocus Pocus, efforts to get a sequel off the ground are still happening. During a recent interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, star Kathy Najimy called in, and said that they are still having talks about what a follow-up might look like. According to Najimy, Bett Midler remains on board, as is Sarah Jessica Parker, and the three recently talked about the film. Not long ago, The Walking Dead‘s Thora Birch, who appeared in the original film, had said that she would love to be a part of a potential sequel as well.
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Bringing Down the House filmmaker Adam Shankman is set to direct the sequel for Disney+. The original film centered on three witches (Parker, Midler, and Najimy), who return from 17th Century Salem after they are accidentally conjured up by some unsuspecting pranksters. The 300-year-old trio sets out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth – but first they must get their act together and outwit three kids and a talking cat.
“Sarah [Jessica Parker] and Bette [Midler] and I had like a couple of weeks on the phone talking about the script, and that was really fun, obviously,” Najimy said. “Bette Midler, as Jess knows, was a huge, huge inspiration for my whole entire life. Like half of me is me because of Bette Midler, half of me is me because my mom, Gloria Steinem and Bette Midler. So we talked a lot about notes and if we did now, it’s just, and we all have said in a perfect world, yes. Now it’s just location, times and dates and how long and all that. So it’s just, it’s those things. So, you know, I can’t really give a yay or nay either way.”
She also said that during some campaigning and canvassing ahead of the 2020 Presidential election, she had been walking through Pennsylvania when she realized that it was Halloween, and encountered a number of people with Hocus Pocus-themed decorations as part of their Halloween displays.
SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, hosted by SiriusXM’s Chief Entertainment Anchor Jess Cagle and co-host Julia Cunningham airs Mondays through Fridays at 6:00 pm ET.
There is no set date for the Hocus Pocus sequel yet, although reports have suggested that the plan is to film it in 2021. Given how busy 2021 already is, it’s likely that would be for a 2022 release if true.
