Original ‘Hocus Pocus’ Director Calls For Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker & Kathy Najimy To Join Sequel

While little is known about the proposed sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic, Hocus Pocus, the original film’s director has made it known that he has a request in the event that the project receives the green light. Speaking with Variety, filmmaker Kenny Ortega said that the sequel should absolutely involve the first movie’s stars, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, and not just in cameo appearances, either.

“I would hope that a sequel would involve the three women in some major capacity,” Ortega told the outlet.

In the 1993 film, Midler, Parker and Najimy portrayed the Sanderson sisters, Winifred, Sarah and Mary, a comedic trio of witches who are captured and hanged in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, after killing a girl while using magic to absorb her youth to, in turn, prolong their own.

Before their deaths, the Sandersons cast a spell that eventually allows them to be resurrected in modern times, where they seek to enact the same evil scheme on the city’s children.

Although Hocus Pocus failed to impress at the box office during its theatrical run, it subsequently became a hit on video, a mainstay in syndication and a modern-day cult classic. In its theatrical re-release earlier this month, the movie nearly topped a box office crippled by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, bringing in almost $2 million in its first weekend after returning to theaters, according to MovieWeb.

In doing so, it challenged Christopher Nolan’s Tenet for the No. 1 weekend spot almost three decades after its original debut.

As it happens, the actresses will be reprising their respective roles on Friday for a virtual charity benefit. Midler has brought the core cast together for In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover, a mockumentary reading with an all-new script, which will feature Parker, Najimy and herself in costume as the iconic witch sisters.

Proceeds from the event will go to the New York Restoration Project, an organization that endeavors to clean and restore green spaces in New York City.

In March, Variety reported that a second Hocus Pocus film was in development as a possible Disney Plus exclusive with Hairspray and Rock of Ages director Adam Shankman attached to direct. At the time, sources indicated that the original’s stars were in no way committed to the project, but that Disney was hopeful they would eventually join the production in some capacity, preferably by reprising their roles.

However, there have been no new developments in the months that have ensued.

As shared by The Inquisitr, Midler, who has been posting about Hocus Pocus on social media in an effort to encourage her followers to vote, came under fire for attacking first lady Melania Trump via Twitter.