Twenty-nine years will have passed between Hocus Pocus and Hocus Pocus 2, marking a significant age difference for the actors playing the otherwise un-aging Sanderson sisters. Hocus Pocus was released in July 1993, receiving mixed reviews and being a box office failure for Disney. Over the past three decades, however, Hocus Pocus garnered a cult following thanks to regular TV showings. Its potentially darker sequel Hocus Pocus 2 will premiere on Disney+ in 2022 and will focus on the Sanderson sisters in the present day.

The original began in 1693 with Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), Winifred (Bette Midler), and Mary (Kathy Najimy) Sanderson brewing a potion that will suck the life force out of a young girl named Emily (Amanda Shepherd). The potion makes the sisters younger, but they are caught by Emily’s brother Thatchery (Sean Murray), and hanged. Three hundred years later, Max Dennison (Omri Katz) awakens the sisters by lighting a Black Flame candle, enacting Winifred’s reincarnation spell. Their resurrection was a spiritual reincarnation, thus explaining how the Sanderson Sisters survived being burned in a school furnace later in Hocus Pocus. Upon their return in 1993, the Sanderson sisters showed no signs of aging. They also still continue to hunt children for anti-aging magic, something that they may likely continue doing in the sequel.

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Considering the length of time between sequels, an age difference for the actors will be apparent. At the time of Hocus Pocus’s release, Parker was the youngest at 27, with Midler being 46 and Najimy being 35. Today, Sarah Jessica Parker is 56, Bette Midler is 76, and Kathy Najimy is 64. However, even though the Sanderson sisters didn’t age during the 300 years between their death and rebirth, the actors’ ages shouldn’t cause much of a discrepancy in Hocus Pocus 2. As much of the original cast returning to Hocus Pocus 2 will be important for the film’s success, the presence of Parker, Midler, and Najimy is guaranteed for a franchise sequel.

There are several possible points towards how the age change for SJP, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy could work in the sequel. For one, it’s strongly speculated that the three witches will once again be revived by the Black Flame spell as opposed to any other charm, but considering that the movie’s not out, there are other possibilities in theory. With that said, the Black Flame spell’s specifics have not been fleshed out beyond what Hocus Pocus shows. Considering that Disney has no Hocus Pocus prequel or any other work that delves further into the Sanderson sisters, a lot of questions remain that give Hocus Pocus 2 some wiggle room for exploring. For example, it’s never specified how old the Sanderson sisters were in 1693 and whether or not they’ve reincarnated before. Therefore, it’s never been established how a second or third reincarnation would affect the sisters.

Regardless of the time span between Hocus Pocus and its sequel, it will be a welcome sight seeing Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy reprising their roles. Depending on what Hocus Pocus 2 will do with the returning Sanderson sisters, there’s a lot of promise for its success considering Hocus Pocus’ cult following and the sequel’s release on the growing Disney+ platform. If the sequel plays it well to the audience, Disney would be wise to pursue further Hocus Pocus material and should have no reason to shy away from Parker, Midler, and Najimy.

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Allison Wonchoba
(79 Articles Published)

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Allison Wonchoba is a Features writer on Screen Rant. She holds a degree in Cinema and English, and she knows (probably) all things film and TV. Working at Hot Topic for a couple years also helped her know all things pop culture-y. Once upon a time, she also interned at a radio station in Dublin, Ireland where she got more media training – and built up her Sudoku skills on the side. She likes Pina Coladas and gettin’ caught in the rain – and she knows that’s NOT a Jimmy Buffet song.

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