Will There Be aHocus Pocus 3? What the Cast Has Said About Another Sequel — and What's Next for the Sanderson Sisters!

Mar. 15, 2025

From left: Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker in the 2022 Disney+ exclusive film ‘Hocus Pocus 2’.Photo: Matt Kennedy/Courtesy of Disney Enterprises, Inc.

It’s official!Hocus Pocusis putting a spell on you for a third stretch!

While discussing upcoming live-action projects, Sean Bailey — president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production —toldThe New York Timesin June 2023 that athird film is in development.

Though no further details regarding a release date and casting have been announced yet, many stars from the first two installments have expressed their desire to return. Some writers have even teased whatHocus Pocus 3could be about.

“I’m hoping that we are able to explore every aspect of these stories and take these characters on a bunch of fun adventures,“Hocus Pocus 2screenwriter Jen D’AngelotoldEntertainment Weeklyin October 2023. “3is still very much in the early stages; we don’t really know what it is.”

The ending of the 2022 sequel — set almost 30 yearsafter the events of the first film— ties things up in a nice little bow for the famous Sanderson sisters (Bette Midleras Winifred,Sarah Jessica Parkeras Sarah andKathy Najimyas Mary). However, an ending credits scene teases the potential for yet another wicked chapter.

Now thatHocus Pocus 3has been confirmed, here’s everything the cast and creators have said about the upcoming movie (plus how the ending sets up the story).

(Warning: Spoilers forHocus Pocus 2ahead!)

What is the end credits scene inHocus Pocus 2?

Belissa Escobedo (left) as Izzy and Whitney Peak as Becca in the 2022 Disney+ film ‘Hocus Pocus 2,'.Matt Kennedy/Disney+

At the end of the film, the Sanderson sisters are defeated yet again with a little help from Becca (Whitney Peak), who is revealed to be a witch herself. After Winifred (Midler) completes a dark spell called Magicæ Maxima to make her the most powerful witch of all, she quickly learns that it comes with a huge cost: the lives of her sisters.

After her sisters turn to dust, Winifred pleads with Becca for help. As the new owner of Winifred’s spell book, Becca answers her request, performing a spell with her friends that reunites Winifred with her sisters in the afterlife.

In addition to that moment, the end credits scene teases the Sanderson sisters’ possible return. Back in Gilbert’s Olde Salem Magic Shoppe, the proprietor’s black cat Cobweb is seen climbing onto one of the shelves in the store. As he perches himself next to a box, the camera zooms in on the label: “B.F. CANDLE #2,” insinuating there is another Black Flame Candle that could bring the sisters back again.

What has the cast said about returning forHocus Pocus 3?

From left: Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson, Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson and Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson in the 2022 Disney+ film ‘Hocus Pocus 2,'.Walt Disney Pictures/Disney+

Before the third film was officially greenlit, the cast had already expressed interest in reprising their iconic roles.

During theHocus Pocus 2premiere in New York City, Parker teased that shewould sign on for a thirdHocus Pocusif Midler also joined the project. “Bette is already starting rumors,” shetoldExtrain 2022 of the sequel. “I hitch my wagon to her star. If she wants to do a third one … No one says no to the Divine Miss M.”

As for Najimy, she told PEOPLE that she’s adamant about the “never say never” mantra.

“It was fun, but it’s not nothing.It’s a lot, but who knows? Who knew that almost 30 years later we’d be doing this sequel?” she told PEOPLE, joking, “I think if we did it 30 years later again, well, there would be walkers and canes involved. The flying might just be a little one-foot blip off the ground.”

Since the announcement ofHocus Pocus 3, Midler has expressed her desire for the script to come together much faster than the last sequel’s.

“I think if they’re gonna, they oughta because time is not just marching, time is barrel-assing to the finish line,” Midler joked during a July 2024 interview onBusy Philipps’ QVC+ talk showBusy This Week,perEntertainment Weekly.“Get us while we’re still breathing, I mean, God!”

That same month, the Divine Miss M told PEOPLE her ideas for Winifred’s future.

“Where I would like Winifred to go, hmm? Well, I think the Hamptons. Winifred in the Hamptons, I could go there. That would be fun,” she said. “I can only figure out locations. Paris, London or the Hamptons!”

What have the writers and producers said aboutHocus Pocus 3?

In 2022, executive producer Adam Shankman applauded director Anne Fletcher’s depiction of Becca’s storyline inHocus Pocus 2. He suggested that the discovery of her magical abilities could hint at future projects for the franchise.

“Anne, I think, handled that really, really beautifully,” ShankmantoldThe Hollywood Reporterof Becca’s fantastical findings. “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.”

D’Angelo toldEWin 2023 that she wasfiguring out the Sanderson sisters' next movies.

“We’re still in the story phase; we’re still working on it,” she said. “We’ve been working on some ideas, and 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.”

While no storylines have been finalized, D’Angelo teased that the second movie “only scratched the surface of Waddingham’s mother witch.”

What wouldHocus Pocus 3be about?

Hannah Waddingham as Mother Witch in the 2022 Disney+ film ‘Hocus Pocus 2,'.disney +

As she appears to be following Becca’s new coven at the end of the film (in bird form), some think that Mother Witch could become the big villain in a third movie — perhaps following Becca’s new coven rising to power and potentially seeking help from the Sanderson sisters to defeat Mother Witch.

source: people.com