For decades, fans of the original 1993 Hocus Pocus film, which was initially deemed a financial disappointment but has since become a cult classic, have been asking about a follow-up.
Hocus Pocus 2 has finally revealed the very first trailer for the long-delayed sequel, which will be on our screens in time for Halloween!
Disney confirmed an official release date for Hocus Pocus 2, which comes almost 30 years after the original film and sees the Sanderson Sisters return to wreak havoc in Salem, Massachusetts.
The Sanderson sisters – Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Mary (Kathy Najimy) – will soon be back on our screens in the new Hocus Pocus sequel, which will land on Disney Plus later this year to coincide with Halloween.
And now the first teaser trailer for Hocus Pocus 2 has been released, giving devoted fans a taste of the wickedness to come.
The footage shows a group of teenagers trying to cast a spell to reignite the black flame and resurrect the coven, with the original trio eventually coming back to life.
Midler’s witch character Winifred screeches: “Lock up your children! Yes, Salem, we’re back!”
Alongside the trio, the streamer has also revealed several new cast members for the project, with Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, and Veep pair Tony Hale and Sam Richardson set to appear alongside returning faces like Doug Jones.
The original Hocus Pocus film saw the three Sanderson sisters resurrected after 300 years to cause chaos in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, and now 30 years later, the witches will be reanimated yet again.
Two young girls were shown in the rough-cut video lighting the Black Flame Candle, which calls forth the main witches while Midler squeals “your kids in a locked room! We are indeed returned, Salem!”
They then begin a musical performance, covering Elton John’s “The Bitch Is Back,” with the appearances of Sam Richardson as an anonymous figure, and Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones) as well. The clip also includes Tony Hale, who plays the mayor of Salem.
Hocus Pocus 2 release date
Disney Plus has confirmed that Hocus Pocus 2 will be released on 30th September 2022 – in plenty of time for Halloween.
Hocus Pocus 2 will be released on the Disney+ streaming service on September 30. Disney announced this on Tuesday, drawing inspiration for the release date from its upfronts presentation.
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, who all played the evil Sanderson sisters of Salem in director Kenny Ortega’s 1993 original, returned for the sequel, which viewers saw a sneak preview of for the first time at Disney’s presentation.
After having reportedly been in development for a number of years, Hocus Pocus 2 was officially confirmed at Disney’s 2020 Investor Day – fresh after the original Hocus Pocus film had become the biggest big-screen re-release of 2020 at the worldwide box office, while filming kicked off in late 2021.
Hocus Pocus 2 cast
The good news for fans is that the new film will see the stars of the original reunite – this is a proper sequel, rather than a remake or reboot.
In October 2020, Bette Midler told Fox 5 New York, “They want to make a movie, they’ve asked us if we were interested and of course all of us said yes.”
She added: “I’m game, I’m totally game.”
In May 2021, it was indeed confirmed that we would see Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as the three Sanderson sisters!
Meanwhile, it’s been announced that another star of the original, Doug Jones, is also returning to reprise the role of Billy Butcherson, alongside an exciting list of new cast members.
Those newcomers include Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham, and Veep pair Tony Hale and Sam Richardson, as well as Whitney Peak (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), Lilia Buckingham (Zoe Valentine), Belissa Escobedo (The Baker and the Beauty), Juju Brener (Vanquish), Froy Gutierrez (Teen Wolf), Taylor Henderson (Earwig and the Witch) and Nina Kitchen.
Hocus Pocus 2 trailer: Any Hocus Pocus 2 footage yet?
Yes and you can watch it again above. The trailer debuted on June 28, 2022 – and along with the trailer came an official poster too.
Previously, we were granted a first look at the returning sisters and a brief glimpse of them in action. There’s also one whole second of footage in Disney+’s 2022 teaser, so you could also watch that on a loop.
Hocus Pocus 2 trailer
A trailer has landed, showing Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy in action as the sinister Sanderson Sisters, who will once again be wreaking havoc on the town of Salem, Massachusetts. Watch below:
What will the Hocus Pocus sequel be about?
In a press release, Disney confirmed that Hocus Pocus 2 would see “three young women accidentally bring the Sanderson Sisters back to modern-day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on the world”.
Not too dissimilar from the first film then – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The film will be directed by The Proposal’s Anne Fletcher, who assures us that the film will please new and old fans alike.
“I am so grateful to be able to play a part in bringing these witches back to life, and to be working with my friends at Disney again makes it all the more special,” she said. “This is a movie for everyone, from the fans who grew up with the first film to the next generation of viewers, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Fletcher is taking over from previously announced director Adam Shankman, who is hard at work on the Enchanted sequel and fellow Disney Plus exclusive Disenchanted.
Unfortunately, we’re not expecting to see Thora Birch back as Dani Dennison as scheduling conflicts meant she had to decline a role. “Everybody tried so hard to make that happen and it just didn’t, but everybody tried so hard,” she said in May 2022.
