Disney confirmed in June that a third “Hocus Pocus” movie was in development, and now screenwriter Jen D’Angelo confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that the latest Sanderson Sisters tale is still in the story development phase following the end of the WGA strike.
“We’re still in the story phase, we’re still working on it,” D’Angelo said. “We’ve been working on some ideas, and it’s been fun to dive back into that world and we have so many directions in which to go and so many new characters to explore. We’ve only scratched the surface of Hannah Waddingham’s mother witch.”
“Ted Lasso” Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham made her “Hocus Pocus” debut in the second installment, released in 2022 on Disney+. She played Mother Witch, a sinister woman who gifts the spell book to the young Sanderson Sisters. While Waddingham’s return in “Hocus Pocus 3” is not set, it sounds like D’Angelo and the team are once again planning a sequel that delves into the past. The screenwriter said “anything’s on the table” for the third installment and “we for sure want to see them again as adults,” so of course Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy would be courted once again to star.
“I’m hoping that we are able to explore every aspect of these stories and take these characters on a bunch of fun adventures,” D’Angelo continued. “3 is still very much in the early stages, we don’t really know what it is, but we’re exploring all options and I think everybody is so delighted by the reaction that ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ got, and we’re excited to continue those stories.”
“Hocus Pocus 2” broke records on the Nielsen Top 10 streaming charts when it debuted last year, earning an opening weekend of 2.7 billion minutes watched. The movie also became the most-watched original film for Disney+ at the time of its release over its opening three-day frame. “Hocus Pocus 2” was directed by Anne Fletcher, who is also set to return to helm the third film.
In Variety’s review of “Hocus Pocus 2,” chief film critic Peter Debruge compared the film favorably to its predecessor, saying that the follow-up ”is actually the better made film, even if it amounts to little more than a stealth remake.”