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Bette Midler Shares Update on ‘Hocus Pocus’ Sequel: ‘I Can’t-Wait to Fly Again’
By John Boone
September 30, 2020
Mister D
I’m pretty sure everyone who reads this knows I have been very vocal that Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy would not do this sequel a long time ago. Well, I’m prepared to eat something horrible, like a piece of slimy okra, and I’m inclined to believe a fellow reader, who’s been adamant all along that Bette and the Sisters would fly again, that Miss M may announce it at her virtual Hulaween event October 30th. (Buy Tickets). You have to admit that would be a brilliant idea. In my defense, I have always wanted it to be true, but as I am The King Of Disappointments In Humankind, I was just trying to lessen your disappointment. Now, I’ve probably JINXED it!
So the Sanderson Sisters haven’t been gone for 300 years, but Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker are long overdue for more Hocus Pocus — especially now that Disney+ is hard at work on a sequel.
Though the studio has yet to confirm the trio’s involvement in the follow-up officially, Midler not only says she’s “absolutely” up to reprise her role as Winifred Sanderson but teases: “I can’t wait to fly!” Which sounds an awful lot like she’s in for Hocus Pocus 2.
“Oh, yeah,” she told ET’s, Nischelle Turner. “We’re just talking logistics.”
Hairspray‘s Adam Shankman will assume directing duties from Kenny Ortega, who helmed the 1993 Halloween classic. In the meantime, Midler will virtually reunite with Najimy and Parker for a good cause in October for “In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover.”
ET sat down with Midler to discuss her new film, The Glorias, in which she plays women’s rights activist Bella Abzug opposite Julianne Moore‘s Gloria Steinem. (Alicia Vikander, Lulu Wilson, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong play other versions of the titular feminist icon.) In one pivotal scene, each iteration of Gloria converges on a bus.
“When I read the script, I was like, ‘I don’t know about this,'” Midler admits. “But when I saw it, it was so moving. We all have our younger self. Years ago, they used to say, ‘You have to take care of your little girl.’ You know, that little girl inside. But this really does take care of the girls, the many, many people you are.”
So, what would Bette Midler tell her younger self on that bus?
“Don’t shave your eyebrows. It’s a bad idea,” she deadpans. “I thought they would grow back. They never did.” She laughs and then thinks back. “This is very interesting — well, it’s interesting for me, because, of course, I’m a narcissist, too — I was there [for the Women’s Movement] and I saw it and I loved it and I participated. I was even on the cover of Ms. Magazine,” Midler recalls.
“Everybody’s got something to offer,” she adds, “and the Women’s Movement allowed them to say, ‘Yes, I do have something to offer. I am worthy.'”
The Glorias is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
So surprised to check the listings for my local AMC theater, to find that Hocus Pocus is playing for only $5 a ticket. I had just recorded it on my DVR from the Freeform Oct. 1 showing, and also surprised to see a nice high-definition presentation of the movie (albeit somewhat edited per the initial disclaimer) on TV. I know the pandemic is pushing back the release dates of many new mainstream movies in the theaters, but re-releasing Hocus Pocus back in the theaters…..nice move, Disney!
Now the kicker, I just checked to see how it performed, and it’s #1 across the country (for Friday) with a box office of $650,000, and is playing in over 2,500 theaters. 27 years later, and I’m guessing it outperformed it’s original release–well, I don’t think the original debut came in higher than #3, if I recall correctly. [I’m thinking ‘Free Willy’ beat it, and maybe another ??] Wow, I’m having a better feeling about the upcoming Hocus Pocus 2…. but so thrilled that a movie that’s been out on VHS and DVD for like, forever, and on television pretty much all October long can come in at #1 at the motion picture theater box office….in 2020! Could it be that the ‘sistahs’ are ready to reunite?
That is so awesome to hear. She definitely is on a roll. Thanks!
Hmmm….it’s looking more like this sequel thing may actually come together, although our hopes have been dashed before, as in ad infinitum. The IMDB now has Hocus Pocus 2 listed as Coming Soon, with Bette, Sarah and Kathy in the cast, and the already confirmed Adam Shankman as Director. Then again, the IMDB still has the Tale of the Allergist’s Wife listed, so who knows? Oddly enough, there seems to be a poster or two showing it already, with Bette on it, with the tagline “Revenge is a Witch” [Disney, Hocus Pocus 2, Coming Soon]. This poster seems somewhat familiar–like other mock-ups I’ve seen before of this sequel. There are a few other posters out there that say, “Hocus Pocus 2, The Witch is Back/They’re Back!”, with Bette and Bette/Sarah/Kathy on it. I’m not seeing the poster that says “Rise of the Elderwitch” which I believe was last year’s hype. The Disney logo is clearly on them, but I’m not sure if someone out there is just having fun with Photoshop. Can the news on this hold out until Hulaween, or is this a bunch of Hocus Pocus? Will there be news? This is starting to get interesting…
I know. this just drives me nuts, plus the fact, of this giant Hulaween thing, coming up with all these huge guests to help introduce the reunion of the Sanderson Sandersons’. I think this will be a big PR event to announce the moviel