The original 1993 fantasy film Hocus Pocus follows a villainous — but hilarious — trio of dead sister witches from Salem who are accidentally summoned back to life by teenagers. Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary Sanderson (Kathy Najimy) attempt to suck the life force out of the children to become immortal.
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Though it may be hard to believe now, the original did not immediately become the cult classic it is today. But thanks to networks playing a constant rotation of spooky films during the fall, Hocus Pocus is now a beloved family-friendly Halloween flick.
As the film racked up millions of streams over the years, Disney wanted to transport fans back into Salem and released Hocus Pocus 2 last September.
Premiering 29 years after the original hit theaters, the long-awaited sequel soared to instant popularity on Disney+. It broke the platform's record for the total number of minutes watched across its debut weekend.
Audience data analytics company Nielsen reported that Halloween lovers watched 2.73 billion minutes of the film, earning Hocus Pocus 2 the title of "biggest opening for a streaming movie ever recorded." It surpassed the record previously held by the 2021 animated comedy Encanto.
Overall, the film landed at No. 5 on the most-streamed movies of 2022, with a total of 5.7 billion minutes viewed.
All that success paved the way for a highly anticipated third film. Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture President Sean Bailey confirmed to The New York Times in June that it was in development but gave no other details.
And while really nothing else has been confirmed, here's everything we can guess and know about what's in store for Hocus Pocus 3.
The Story
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At first, every story in Hocus Pocus 2 seemed to tie a nice bow on top, bringing the story to a logical conclusion. But upon closer inspection, a few scenes in the sequel left the door wide open for a third installment.
In the second film, the witchy Sanderson Sisters are reunited to terrorize a new group of teenage girls, who accidentally summon the kooky trio again on All Hallow's Eve. Though the teenagers defeat the witches and they return to the dead, yet again, the story is clearly not over.
Gilbert (Sam Richardson), the owner of the magic shop in the sisters' ancestral home, shows a sort of obsession with the witches in the sequel. And he's actually one of the few Salem residents who remember the trio's first Salem appearance in 1993.
But the film's ambiguous final post-credit scene reveals there's another Black Flame candle, which is needed to summon the Sanderson Sisters, sitting in Gilbert's magic shop. This certainly paves the way for the witches to make a third visit to Salem.
The sequel also affirms that a new generation of witches could soon take over the franchise. The special spellbook, known as "Book," is passed down to one of the teenagers who fight the Sanderson Sisters, Becca (Whitney Peak).
The brave young woman just turned 16 and discovers that she also has the powers of a witch. This revelation certainly sets up the possibility of a generational torch-passing to a new crew in the third film.
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Plus, in the final moments of the film, a bird can be seen flying around the teenagers as they walk home. This red-winged bird is assumed to be the bird form of the Mother Witch (Hannah Waddingham), an extremely powerful being who roams the Forbidden Woods of Salem.
Based on that last shot, the Mother Witch may also try to influence the new, younger witches in the threequel, as she did with the Sandersons. Rumors spread quickly online after the premiere of the second film that Mother Witch may be the ultimate villain in the third film, causing Becca to summon the Sanderson Sisters for help vanquishing the powerful witch once and for all.
Clearly, screenplay writer Jen D'Angelo was thinking about how the Hocus Pocus story could continue past the sequel. And she confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that she'd be returning to write the third installment, alongside the sequel's director, Anne Fletcher.
The Cast
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While the iconic trio hasn't officially confirmed they'd reprise their roles as the devious and wacky witches, all three have expressed an ongoing love for their iconic characters and said in past interviews they'd be interested in returning for a third time.
The sisters' ringleader, Winifred, has fierce red hair and a personality to match. Played by the accomplished Midler, the main antagonist is intelligent and probably the most evil of the trio. And to Midler, all her spunk and charisma make for a fantastic and challenging role.
She told Entertainment Weekly she loved that she got to return as Winifred after nearly 30 years and would be happy to do it again.
"I've always been envious of people who get to do their favorite character more than once. The fact that we got to do this finally, after 30 years of promoting the idea, I'm glad we got to do it. I'd love to have a franchise — especially a character I love playing," Midler said a week after the second debuted. "If there was a third one, of course I'd sign on. I love Winifred, Sarah, Mary, and our relationship. It's good for women. We stick together through hell and high water, but we do cause mayhem, and not many women cause that much mayhem!"
And with Midler on board, Parker — who plays the kind and amiable Sarah — said she'd have to join the cast again.
"I hitch my wagon to her star," she told Extra, referring to Midler. "If she wants to do a third one, no one says no to the Divine Miss M."
And Najimy plays the often-confused middle sister Mary. She told Entertainment Weekly she lives by the "never say never" mantra when asked about coming on for a third film.
Plus, if the third will focus on the new trip of teenagers, we'd expect Becca, played by Peak, to return alongside her newly appointed coven members, Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham).
As for the supporting characters, a handful of the original's films cast have long expressed interest in returning to the franchise.
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Max (Omri Katz), Dani (Thora Birch) and Vinessa Shaw (Allison) all helped take down the Sanderson Sisters in the first movie. And the actors, now adults, have all been vocal about their desire to reprise their roles again. None of them were able to return to the sequel for various reasons, but that doesn't mean they won't be included in the threequel.
In fact, Katz has already campaigned for Max's character to be included. "I'm excited for the new film!" Katz told Entertainment Weekly shortly after news of the third movie was announced. "I would return if Disney approached me. It would be an honor to return, hopefully with some of my fellow castmates, and make a fun addition to the franchise."
Shaw, who played Max's girlfriend in the original, echoed that sentiment. "It's such a fun story, and obviously having us reminisce about this makes it that much more fun and the fondness keeps growing," she told Entertainment Weekly.
The sequel's screenwriter, D'Angelo, told Variety that she had actually planned for Birch to return as a school teacher in the second film. But she had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
"We tried so hard to get the original cast back for cameos and then it just kept not working out for one reason or the other," D'Angelo said. "But I'm hoping in Hocus Pocus 3, we'll see Max and Alison living in California."
When Can We Watch?
It's too soon to tell when we could expect Disney to release Hocus Pocus 3. If it follows the same development and filming schedule as the sequel, Halloween 2025 may be the earliest it'd hit the silver screen.
But the writers and actors are both on a monthslong strike that has effectively shut down Hollywood and pushed back dozens of release dates for other films. Hocus Pocus 3 could be the dual strike's latest casualty, potentially releasing even later.
In the meantime, you can enjoy the original Hocus Pocus and the wildly successful sequel on Disney+.
