Who will star in the new Hocus Pocus? This is the question on everyone’s mind after learning that this Disney cult classic is set to get a sequel.
This project doesn’t have a ton of steam right now, but with Disney working on getting fans excited (and paying!) for Disney+, set to launch later this year, teasing a Hocus Pocus 2 could be just the thing.
Here’s the issue – we really don’t know all that much about Hocus Pocus 2. Whether this is a stunt from Disney to get us to sign up for Disney+, or this is actually going to happen, we just don’t know yet.
A source close to the project leaked that the original scriptwriters, Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, were not going to be involved in writing Hocus Pocus 2. Instead, Disney has signed on Jen D’Angelo to craft the sequel.
D’Angelo’s biggest credit to her name is her writing (and producing) for Workaholics – she wrote 2 episodes and is listed as the “executive story editor” for another 5, according to IMDB.
She also apparently wrote “Scroll Wheel of Time”, an upcoming show about a duo of rappers who are given an old iPod that’s actually a time-traveling device, teleporting them into the era of the music. “Scroll Wheel” is filming right now.
There is no cast list as of now, or even hints on who Disney wants to star in this.
The OG Hocus Pocus wasn’t exactly popular at first. It released in 1993 with a budget of $28 million (with inflation, that would be almost $50 million today!), but only brought in about $39 million.
Hocus Pocus really shines in reruns, believe it or not. While no one went to the movie theater to see it (clearly), people did sit in front of their TV every year to watch the rerun in October on the Disney channel, or ABC Family.
This is what people mean when they say Hocus Pocus has a ‘cult’ following… it was panned by critics and performed poorly, but if I’m scrolling through the TV guide and see it on, I can’t not watch it!
So far, Disney has said that none of the original cast has signed up to be in the sequel, but they’re not opposed to having some of the original members join in the fun.
The witchy sisters brought back from the dead were played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, all have gone on to have very successful careers. Omri Katz played Max, the young male lead – he has had less success, but still has done well for himself in Hollywood.
If Disney wants to sign some of these names up, they’re probably going to have to shell out the big bucks. But Parker did say on the 25th anniversary of the movie that she’s delighted to have touched so many lives with this Halloween classic.
“I don’t think any of us who were making it at the time thought Hocus Pocus would have such a long life.”
