Movies
‘Hocus Pocus 2’ – Why Thora Birch Wasn’t Able to Return
A few years back, original Hocus Pocus star Thora Birch had expressed interest in returning for the sequel, which is now coming to Disney+ this Friday, September 30. Birch, however, isn’t back in Hocus Pocus 2 alongside the other legacy stars from the original classic, and the actress explains why in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight that went live this week.
The reason Thora Birch isn’t in Hocus Pocus 2? Scheduling issues.
Thora Birch tells Entertainment Tonight, “I was just a little dismayed I wasn’t able to make it. I was working on something else when they were filming. Otherwise I was definitely going to be there on set with the girls.”
“I can’t wait to see what they do with it,” Birch continues, “I know they’re taking a completely different, fresh approach, so I’m excited.”
A young Thora Birch played Dani Dennison in the original Hocus Pocus movie back in 1993, an 8-year-old girl who loves Halloween and ends up battling the Sanderson Sisters.
The new film is being billed as “the spooky sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic,” with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy all back as the Sanderson Sisters.
Doug Jones will also be returning as Billy Butcherson, seen in the latest trailer.
“It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters who were executed for practicing witchcraft, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to figure out how to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before midnight on All Hallow’s Eve.”
Anne Fletcher (The Guilt Trip) directed Hocus Pocus 2 for Disney+.
The cast includes Whitney Peak (“Gossip Girl,” “Molly’s Game”) as Becca, Lilia Buckingham (“Dirt,” “Crown Lake”) as Cassie, and Belissa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories,” “The Baker and the Beauty”) as Izzy, three young women in present-day Salem who incite the wrath of the three witches. Sam Richardson (Werewolves Within) will also star. “Arrested Development” favorite Tony Hale and “Ted Lasso” actress Hannah Waddingham have also both landed roles with Froy Gutierrez, Juju Brener, Taylor Paige Henderson, and Nina Kitchen.
The Kenny Ortega-directed 1993 movie starred Omri Katz as a curious youngster who moves to Salem, Massachusetts, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) that were executed in the 17th century. The film also starred Thora Birch, who will not return for the sequel, unfortunately.
Jen D’Angelo (“Workaholics”) wrote the sequel’s script.
Fresh off his brief appearance as Longlegs in Scary Movie, Deadline reports that Chris Elliott will star alongside Michael Ian Black in Sasquatch creature comedy Bad Day for Bigfoot.
Sara Tomko (Resident Alien), Oliver Cooper (Project X) and James Duval (Donnie Darko) also star in the film from filmmakers Zach Green and Devin O’Rourke (Foil).
Deadline details in today’s exclusive report, “The film follows a Bigfoot hoax that goes horribly wrong in the middle of an actual Sasquatch hot spot, leading to a chaotic struggle between the hoaxers, investigators, and a supernatural force that defies explanation.”
“I have always been drawn to cryptids and monster lore, and the over-the-top sincerity of 80s and 90s protagonists,” director Zach Green said in a statement. “Bad Day for Bigfoot is a love letter to those creature-filled adventure comedies. I couldn’t be more proud of the cast and crew we’ve assembled, and for the support and enthusiasm from the people of La Grande [Oregon]. It was their gumption that proved to us that making this thing was very possible, and that what’s lurking in those woods may be very real indeed.”
The cast also includes Ashley Rae Spillers, Brian McGuire and Kyle D. King.
Stay tuned for more on Bad Day for Bigfoot as we learn it.
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