Another virgin could reignite that Black Flame Candle.
Ahead of the upcoming sequel, the Sanderson sisters—a.k.a. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy—said they would certainly conjure a third Hocus Pocus film.
"I'd love to have a franchise—especially a character I love playing," Midler said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly published Sept. 13. "If there was a third one, of course I'd sign on, but I don't know how. I can't imagine what the story would be, but 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!"
But what do her co-stars think? Parker said, "Kathy had a good idea that the third one should be animated."
"That would be cool and a smart idea. It's fun, funny, and could be interesting and innovative, like old-fashioned or new [animation]," the And Just Like That… star continued. "Of course I'd be happy to have a conversation, it just depends on what Kathy and Bette want!"
As for Mary Sanderson? Though Najimy said she feels like the story is "done" with the sequel, she'll "never say never."
For now, fans will have to make do with Hocus Pocus 2, which premieres Sept. 30. Midler said she pushed for the sequel herself, even requesting her old Winifred costume—which she didn't get—once she started seeing how popular the character was.
"I came as Winnie here and there, for this benefit or that benefit, and I realized there was something going on," the First Wives Club star shared. "As I watched it progress, I'd call the studio once a year to ask, 'How about it?' It wasn't until about three years ago that they advocated for it, and movement started."
The sequel focuses on three new Salem teenage girls (Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo and Lilia Buckingham) who accidentally reunite the Sanderson sisters 30 years after the 1993 original and must vanquish them by sunrise. While the new girls aren't witches, Midler says the trio has "the potential to become witches" and "to follow in our footsteps."
"Pitting the young against the veterans, it's a conflict that audiences like to see," Midler predicted. "Who's going to win? Or, is anybody going to win? It's well thought-out and constructed, and it'll be satisfying because it's conflict, but conflict in a great special effects way, and a great magical way."
But don't get your cauldrons in a twist: Midler, Parker and Najimy worked with director Anne Fletcher themselves to make sure that their characters remained faithful to the original tone of the film.
As Najimy explained, "They sent us story ideas, then Sarah, Bette, and I would have phone meetings with lots of snacks, and we'd talk over narratives and character arcs. The first one had something delicious about it, but you also want to make something new. With a little bit of our input, the writer's input, and Disney's, we came up with something that's current and fun."
Hocus Pocus 2 premieres Sept. 30 on Disney+.