Hocus Pocus 3 is officially in early development at Disney with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy set to reprise their roles as the Sanderson sisters.
Deadline reports that there are plans for a theatrical release this time around, following Hocus Pocus 2‘s record-setting Disney+ premiere in 2022.
Hocus Pocus 3 was originally announced in 2023 by former President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production Sean Bailey, only to be left in limbo following Bailey’s exit from the studio the following year.
At that time, Hocus Pocus 2 director Anne Fletcher and writer Jen D’Angelo were attached to reunite on the threequel. It’s unknown at this time if they’re still attached.
“They sent a script, and a lot of it was brilliant,” Middler commented back in October. “So I got very excited, and now we’re sort of trying to figure out what it is and where it’s going to be and how much it’s going to cost and all those logistical things.”
According to Deadline’s sources, “The halt in negotiations came down to salary negotiations with Midler, Parker, and Najimy, all of which have since been worked out.”
1993’s Hocus Pocus sees three 17th-century witches — Winifred (Midler), Sarah (Parker), and Mary (Najimy) — resurrected on Halloween to steal the life essence from the children of Salem, Massachusetts.
The witches returned 29 years later in Hocus Pocus 2, with three high-school students tasked with stopping the ravenous sisters from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallows’ Eve.