Sarah Jessica Parker Dishes on Filming ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ with Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy (Exclusive)

The Sanderson sisters ride again! Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as Winnie, Sarah and Mary in Hocus Pocus 2 — and the new movie is packed with references to the original.

The Sanderson sisters are back and bewitching as ever in “Hocus Pocus 2”, the long-awaited sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic.

“Hocus Pocus 2” sees the return of the witches alongside some new characters. A black cat named Cobweb reminds us of Thackery Binx from the first film.

“Hocus Pocus 2,” now streaming exclusively on Disney+. Returning to reprise their original roles include Bette Midler as Winifred Sanderson, Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah Sanderson, Kathy Najimy as Mary Sanderson and Doug Jones as William “Billy Butcherson.” Sadly, as you’ll find out from the following recap, Thackery Binx won’t be returning for the spooky sequel.

, the long-awaited sequel to the 1993 Halloween classic.Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker reprise their roles as Winnifred, Mary and Sarah Sanderson, respectively, in the new film, which finds the trio resurrected once again by a group of teen friends — Becca (Whitney Peak), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) — who light a new version of the infamous Black Flame Candle.However, when they return to wreak havoc on Salem — this time seeking revenge on the town's mayor, a descendant of the puritanical reverend who originally exiled them (both played by Tony Hale) — they find that a few things have changed.For one, the Sanderson Witch Museum has been reopened as a magic shop, run by a man named Gilbert (Sam Richardson), who claims to have witnessed the witches' first night of mayhem back in the '90s. But that's far from the only callback to the original.

Hocus Pocus 2″ is the long awaited sequel to the 1993 original. A financial failure when it was first released, the film has since become a much beloved cult classic, celebrated, quoted and imitated in costume by faithful fans including this writer.

during the Broadway Podcast Network’s “The Art of Kindness” podcast on Thursday.“This started before COVID, but now it seems to be back on — and that is that they are building a Broadway version of ‘Hocus Pocus,’ ” said Kirschner.“I just want to pinch myself, and I’m just afraid that I’m going to be 9 years old and on a Little League field again … But it’s just so wonderful just to stand back and watch all of this.”The 67-year-old producer and “Hocus Pocus” creator made the announcement a day before the highly-anticipated sequel is set to fly on Disney+.“It’s not just me. It’s so many people that brought ‘Hocus Pocus’ [to life] — from [director] Kenny Ortega and Mick Garris’ script and John Debney’s score and Bill Sandell’s production design, and now a whole new generation are working on it,” Kirschner said.“Hocus Pocus” and its sequel star Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as the hilarious-yet-sinister Sanderson sisters — who are hellbent on terrorizing modern-day Salem, Massachusetts.

Sarah Jessica Parker did not attend the New York City Ballet’s 10th Annual Fall Fashion Gala on Wednesday, September 28, amid a family emergency.

“Hocus Pocus 2.” And among critics, the sequel is faring better than its predecessor originally did — but only just.For the most part, reviews seem to be split between enjoying the nostalgia of “Hocus Pocus 2,” and wanting it to build more upon the original. Where The Hollywood Reporter’s Lovia Gyarkye argues that the sequel “honors its history without knowing quite how to move beyond it,” and IndieWire’s Jude Dry says it “hews closely to the original, perhaps a little too much,” others disagree.The AV Club’s Phil Pirrello wrote that “Using ‘Hocus Pocus’ more like a modular foundation than sacrosanct canon, director Anne Fletcher (Netflix’s “Dumplin’”) and screenwriter Jen D’Angelo find an inventive way of expanding upon the OG movie by reaching into the main characters’ past and softening the trio of witches’ more sinister edges as they once again wreak their unique, PG-brand of havoc on the town of Salem.”IGN’s Amelia Emberwing noted that it’s odd the movie doesn’t film in Salem, but nonetheless, “It’s wonderfully nostalgic that ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ feels like the Disney Channel Original Movies of yore.”Really, critics are just happy to see Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker back together again as the beloved witchy trio.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic What strange sorcery is this that “Hocus Pocus” — a so-so comedy turned campy cult favorite starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as absolutely fabulous Salem witch sisters — should be getting a sequel nearly three decades after its 1993 release? At the time, Variety speculated that, were it not for the film’s three stars, “‘Hocus Pocus’ wouldn’t seem out of place on the Disney Channel, and perhaps belongs there.” (Its director, Kenny Ortega, would go on to helm the “High School Musical” franchise for the cabler.) In a sense, that’s what’s happened with this follow-up, aimed to breathe some life into the graveyard that is Disney+. The sequel’s existence owes less to popular demand (the original earned a respectable $39.3 million stateside and went on to become a Halloween season staple) than the realization that the film had tapped into preteens’ fascination with witchcraft before Harry Potter came along. It can be no coincidence that the new feature lifts so much of its look and feel from that franchise — with eye of newt, a dead man’s head and some aspects of “The Craft” tossed in for good measure. In “Hocus Pocus 2,” the three teens called upon to save Salem from the Sanderson sisters’ return are themselves budding witches, which means the movie is less about scaring kids away from magic than indulging their post-Potter junior wizarding fantasies.

Disney’s favorite witches are back! Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy stepped out in New York City to celebrate the premiere of Hocus Pocus 2 on Tuesday, September 27.

upcoming Disney+ film “Hocus Pocus 2,” the sequel to the 1993 cult classic, revealed their thoughts about a potential third installment in the “Hocus Pocus” series during the Tuesday premiere.Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker told Entertainment Weekly that they would love to continue playing the witchy Sanderson Sisters who terrorize present-day Salem, Massachusetts.“I’m envious of other actors who have franchises, and I was hoping for a sequel to ‘First Wives Club’, but we never got that,” Midler, 76, said. “After 30 years with no sequel to ‘Hocus Pocus,’ 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.

film — but so have the film's stars, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy. ET's Rachel Smith caught up with Midler and Najimy at the New York City premiere where the two spoke about reviving their roles 30 years later. While the film was a joy to make, Midler — who plays Winifred Sanderson — said dealing with COVID was the hardest part.

Sarah Jessica Parker was joined by her twin daughters Marion and Tabitha on Tuesday at the premiere of her new movie Hocus Pocus 2. The Sex And The City star posed up a storm alongside her 13-year-old daughters, who she shares with long-time husband Matthew Broderick, during a rare family outing for her new film in New York. The trio happily smiled for photographers on the carpet, as the girls revealed they share their mother’s love for fashion in a strapless shimmering blue-grey dress and classic black dress respectively.