Progress is not being made fast enough on Hocus Pocus 3 for Bette Midler and she isn’t holding back on saying why she wants it to speed up. The film was officially announced in June of 2023 but apparently Midler has yet to see a script for the film. She shared the news on the QVC+ talk show Busy This Week. She has an issue with this as time is not on her or her co-stars side as they all get older. Middler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimi star as the Sanderson Sisters in the first two films.
“I haven’t seen the script, but I’ve heard rumblings,” Midler said about Hocus Pocus 3. “I think if they’re gonna, they oughta, because time is not just marching, time is barrel-assing to the finish line. Get us while we’re still breathing, I mean, God!”
Screenwriter Jen D’Angelo confirmed last year that the film was still in development. This came after a writer’s strike put a halt to most of Hollywood.
“We’re still in the story phase, we’re still working on it,” D’Angelo said. “We’ve been working on some ideas. It’s been fun to dive back into that world and we have so many directions in which to go and so many new characters to explore. We’ve only scratched the surface of Hannah Waddingham’s mother witch.”
In Hocus Pocus 2, Hannah Waddingham portrayed the mother witch. She was the one who gifted the spell book to the young Sanderson Sisters. D’Angelo said “anything’s on the table” for the third film and “we for sure want to see [the sisters] again as adults.”
“I’m hoping that we are able to explore every aspect of these stories and take these characters on a bunch of fun adventures,” D’Angelo continued. “We don’t really know what it is, but we’re exploring all options and I think everybody is so delighted by the reaction that Hocus Pocus 2 got, and we’re excited to continue those stories.”
Hocus Pocus 2 was quite successful with its release on Disney+. In fact, it broke records for the Nielsen Top 10 streaming charts when it debuted last year. Its opening weekend garnered 2.7 billion minutes watched. It also became the most-watched original film for Disney+ at the time of its release over its opening three-day frame. Anne Fletcher directed the second film in the franchise and is set to come back for the third.
At this point, there isn’t a timeline for Hocus Pocus 3. It also doesn’t sound like there is a hard storyline in place. With Disney’s pivot from quantity to quality in its production releases, a good story will be essential for the film being made and released. It also could end up potentially being released in theaters first as Disney once again is focuses on the big screen in combination with streaming screens.
What do you think about this update regarding Hocus Pocus 3? What do you think should happen in this film? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
