See Sarah Jessica Parker And Bette Midler In First Official Hocus Pocus 2 Sneak Peak
Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy are back as the Sanderson Sisters in the first official look at Disney's Hocus Pocus 2.
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Besides bringing fantastic Disney+ Day promotional offers, like a 75% price slash on its subscription, Disney+ just dropped a first-look image of Hocus Pocus 2 – a sequel to Halloween cult classic from 1993, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy. All three actresses are set to reprise their roles from the original film, with the sequel scheduled to premiere on Disney’s streaming service in fall 2022.
Disney+ just shared a photo of Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy from the set of the Hocus Pocus sequel at the Museum of Newport History in Rhode Island on Wednesday. All three were dressed in their respective costumes as the Sanderson sisters. Sarah Jessica Parker portrays a dim-witted but bubbly singing witch, Sarah Sanderson, while Bette Midler, who’s an Oscar away from winning an EGOT status, portrays Sarah’s smarter sister Winnie Sanderson. Kathy Najimy portrayed Mary Sanderson in the original film, a middle witch sister who can smell out children. You can check out the post below:
Hocus Pocus 2 was officially confirmed during Disney’s Investor Day last December and sets out to follow a premise similar to the original, picking up 30 years after the original 1993 film. Three young women, Becca, Cassie, and Izzy, portrayed by Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, and Belissa Escobedo, accidentally bring back the Sanderson Sisters to modern-day Salem. However, they must also figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from causing irreparable damage to the world. Actor Doug Jones will also reprise his role, returning as teen zombie Billy Butcherson, Winnie’s poisoned ex-boyfriend.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy starred in the original Hocus Pocus, released in 1993. The film suffered poor reviews but still managed to earn slightly over $44 million on a $28 million budget. Many critics have branded the original film as a muddled family-friendly effort that fails to live up to the talents of its impressive cast. Despite dreadful reviews, the film garnered a cult following over the years, and Disney re-released the film in 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It made $1.9 million over the first weekend, finishing second behind Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Disney was one of the first companies to realize the value of remakes, 30-year-sequels, and soft reboots. As a result, we’ve witnessed several revisits to older IPs so far, including 2019’s Aladdin and The Lion King, 2016’s The Jungle Book, and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast – all of which were very well received by their audiences. Unfortunately, Disney made a couple of mistakes along the way, like 2020’s Mulan, 2019’s Dumbo, and Lady and the Tramp, which were admirable efforts that the audiences didn’t appreciate. Not to mention the company’s turning their villains into anti-heroes now, like Ursula from The Little Mermaid.
Given the poor initial performance of Hocus Pocus and its rise to cult-classic over nearly three decades, it’s not surprising that Disney’s looking to cash in. Perhaps the sequel fares better than the original film. If not, Disney will just revisit or remake the movie in other 30-or-so years.
