The Sanderson Sisters will be back together. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy will reprise their roles as the delightfully wicked Sanderson Sisters in the live-action comedy “Hocus Pocus 2,” the spooky sequel to Disney’s 1993 Halloween cult classic “Hocus Pocus.”
The film will premiere exclusively on Disney+ in 2022.
Midler returns as Winifred Sanderson, with Parker and Najimy back as her sisters, Sarah and Mary, respectively. In “Hocus Pocus 2,” 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.
“Sistaaaahs! It’s been 300 years… But we’re BACK!” Midler posted on Instagam.
Parker and Najimy also chimed in on social media using their often-quoted lines. “Yep. I’m ready. To run. Amok, amok, amok, amok,” Parker said. While Najimy commented on who the audience has been waiting for a sequel for years. “The people have spoken: I smell children…again,” she wrote.
“Hocus Pocus 2” will begin production this fall under the direction of Anne Fletcher (“The Proposal,” “27 Dresses”), who is taking over directing responsibilities from her friend and colleague Adam Shankman (“Hairspray,” “The Wedding Planner”), with Lynn Harris (“The Shallows”) serving as producer. Shankman is currently in production on “Disenchanted” for Disney, which he is directing, but will remain on this project as an executive producer along with Ralph Winter (“Adrift”) and David Kirschner (“Curse of Chucky”). Steven Haft (“Tigerland”) is co-producer.
“As heartbroken as I am that I won’t be able to direct my friends Bette, Sarah Jessica and Kathy in what is sure to be nothing short of a major event for Disney+ due to scheduling conflicts, I couldn’t be more pleased to be handing over the reins to Anne, who has brought so much laughter and joy into people’s lives with her previous work,” Shankman.
“Now more than ever, people need to laugh. We should be laughing every day, and there is so much fun to be had with these three unbelievable women playing delicious characters from such a beloved film,” Fletcher said.
“This is a movie for everyone,” she continued, “from the fans who grew up with the first film to the next generation of viewers, and I can’t wait to get started.”
