After 4-Year Wait, Disney Finally Confirms Hocus Pocus 3 With Original Stars

A third Hocus Pocus movie is officially in the works at Disney. The news comes four years after the release of Hocus Pocus 2 on Disney+, and 33 years after the original film first debuted in theaters.

Hocus Pocus 3 has officially entered early development from Disney Live Action Studios, per Deadline. Also revealed is that the threequel will bring back all three Sanderson sisters, with the roles reprised by franchise stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy. One exciting change is that the third installment is planned for a theatrical release, unlike Hocus Pocus 2 released directly to streaming on Disney+ in 2022.

The Sanderson Sisters Return Once Again

Currently, there are no plot details known about Hocus Pocus 3. It's also unclear if any other actors from the previous two films will be joining Midler, Parker, and Najimy. Notably, Hocus Pocus 2 also brought back Doug Jones as Billy Butcherson, but there were some major absences, like Omri Katz's Max Dennison, Thora Birch's Dani Dennison, and Vinessa Shaw's Allison Watts. Making a third film will give these characters the opportunity to reunite with the Sanderson sisters, but it remains to be seen if that will happen.

The original Hocus Pocus movie, released in 1993, was directed by Kenny Ortega with a screenplay by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert. It tells the story of three villainous witches resurrected in the modern day by a teenage boy on Halloween night in Salem, Massachusetts. It was not a big success at the box office, but it developed a major cult following in subsequent years, largely due to the film annually screening on television during the Halloween season.

The Story of the Sanderson Sisters Continues

Hocus Pocus 2 was written by Jen D'Angelo and directed by Anne Fletcher. In the follow-up film, the Sanderson sisters are again brought back to modern-day Salem, this time by high school pals Becca (Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belissa Escobedo), and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham). This time, the sisters seek a powerful new spell that will make them truly unstoppable, leaving the teen girls to develop a plan to stop their sinister plan. The sequel was a big hit, setting a new record at the time as the most-viewed premiere on Disney+ and earning multiple Emmy nominations.

While no story details are known when it comes to Hocus Pocus 3, Midler previously teased that the screenplay she'd read for the movie was "brilliant," but that a lot of the "logistical" aspects of the project still needed to be figured out. The other franchise stars had also made it clear that they were hoping to see the third movie get made, with Parker stating last year that all three "would like to do it."

A release date has not yet been set for Hocus Pocus 3.