Disney is conjuring up a third "Hocus Pocus."
President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production Sean Bailey confirmed to The New York Times that "Hocus Pocus 3" is officially in the works.
This comes after "Hocus Pocus 2," a long-awaited follow-up to the 1993 comedy, was a hit on Disney+ last year. Disney said the sequel had the biggest debut ever for one of the streamer's original movies. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy returned as the Sanderson sisters, a trio of witches, nearly three decades after the original cult classic.
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Further details about the third "Hocus Pocus" weren't revealed, and it wasn't clear which stars might return. Midler told Entertainment Weekly last year she would "of course" sign on for a third installment, though she couldn't "imagine what the story would be." Parker also told EW she would be "happy to have a conversation" about another film, and Najimy said "never say never," even though she felt "we've pulled every story you could pull out of this." This is the latest sequel announcement for Disney after a follow-up to "Freaky Friday" was confirmed in May.
But Bailey told The New York Times he has more than 50 movies in development at Disney, and he revealed that reviving "Pirates of the Caribbean" is a priority, though he was "noncommittal" on whether Johnny Depp could return. With the prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King" set to debut in 2024, Bailey also said he believes "The Lion King" can potentially become a "big, epic saga" like "Star Wars," adding, "There's a lot of room to run if we can find the stories."
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