Movies
‘Hocus Pocus 3’? Producer Teases Potential Spinoff Projects
Disney’s sequel Hocus Pocus 2 was a massive hit for the Disney+ streaming service this Halloween season, setting streaming records and proving that the franchise is now more popular than ever before. Which begs the question. Will Hocus Pocus 3 soon be on the way?
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hocus Pocus 2 producer Adam Shankman teases the potential for follow-up projects, which could center on the sequel’s new characters. Hocus Pocus 2 introduced Whitney Peak as Becca, Belissa Escobedo as Izzy, and Lilia Buckingham as Cassie, a new group of sisters who come together to vanquish the Sandersons.
It’s Becca who ultimately discovers she has her own bewitching powers.
Shankman tells THR, “[Director] Anne [Fletcher] I think handled [Becca’s character arc] really, really beautifully. We went back and forth on how that was going to work, if it was going to work, forever, and Anne was just like, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ And I think it’s great. And it creates a lot of excitement about potential spinoffs.”
With the massive success of Hocus Pocus 2 this year, we’d be very surprised if Disney holds out on expanding upon the franchise. So we expect it won’t be long before we hear more.
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.
“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.”
Movies
Matilda Firth Joins the Cast of Director Leigh Whannell’s ‘Wolf Man’ Movie
Filming is underway on The Invisible Man director Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man for Universal and Blumhouse, which will be howling its way into theaters on January 17, 2025.
Deadline reports that Matilda Firth (Disenchanted) is the latest actor to sign on, joining Christopher Abbott (Poor Things), Julia Garner (The Royal Hotel), and Sam Jaeger.
The project will mark Whannell’s second monster movie and fourth directing collaboration with Blumhouse Productions (The Invisible Man, Upgrade, Insidious: Chapter 3).
Wolf Man stars Christopher Abbott as a man whose family is being terrorized by a lethal predator.
Writers include Whannell & Corbett Tuck as well as Lauren Schuker Blum & Rebecca Angelo.
Jason Blum is producing the film. Ryan Gosling, Ken Kao, Bea Sequeira, Mel Turner and Whannell are executive producers. Wolf Man is a Blumhouse and Motel Movies production.
In the wake of the failed Dark Universe, Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man has been the only real success story for the Universal Monsters brand, which has been struggling with recent box office flops including the comedic Renfield and period horror movie The Last Voyage of the Demeter. Giving him the keys to the castle once more seems like a wise idea, to say the least.
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