This classic Halloween movie is getting a sequel — and it’s not all just “hocus-pocus.”
Driving the news: Disney posted the trailer for “Hocus Pocus 2” on its YouTube channel on Tuesday and fans are absolutely bewitched.
- The video has already racked up more than 2 million views and over 2,000 comments.
- The trailer shows a clip of the Sanderson Sisters seeming to come back alive after their death in the first movie, with Bette Midler as Winifred exclaiming, “Lock up your children. Yes, Salem, we’re back!”
What they’re saying: Tony Hale (“Arrested Development”) told Variety in December that “he plays two characters in the film, an “evil reverend and a mayor.”
- “Another surreal experience. That movie is a Halloween classic, and meeting Bette, and Sarah Jessica and Kathy Najimy, who was on ‘Veep’ with me … it was really fun,” Hale said, per Variety.
- Fans all over social media are sharing their excitement, but some are a bit disappointed the movie’s not hitting the big screen. One Twitter user wrote, “Can’t wait to see it! A little nervous that it’s not getting a theatre release, but I’ll be watching!”
The cast: The original Sanderson Sisters are back and better than ever, played by the original actresses Bette Midler, 76, Sarah Jessica Parker, 57, and Kathy Najimy, 65, People magazine reports.
- According to CNN, the movie “also stars Sam Richardson (‘The Tomorrow War’), Doug Jones (‘The Shape of Water’), Hannah Waddingham (‘Ted Lasso’), Whitney Peak (‘Gossip Girl’), Belissa Escobedo (‘American Horror Stories’), Lilia Buckingham (‘Dirt’) and Froyan Gutierrez (‘Teen Wolf’).”
The plot: Although the two preteens who encountered the Sanderson Sisters in the original film aren’t in the sequel, the plot is somewhat similar to the first storyline, which pitted kids against the witches.
- The official movie release reads, “It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve,” CNN reported.
Details: The movie will premiere Sept. 30 exclusively on Disney+, just in time for spooky season.
- The sequel will not be directed by the director of the first film, Kenny Ortega, who also directed Disney’s “Descendants” and “High School Musical.” Instead, “Hocus Pocus 2” will be helmed by Anne Fletcher, director of “The Proposal” and “27 Dresses,” Deadline reported.
