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There Was a Different ‘Hocus Pocus’ Sequel Before ‘Hocus Pocus 2’
By Logan Kelly
Oct 5, 2024
When it comes to Halloween classics, there’s no movie more enduring or beloved than Hocus Pocus. Initially a theatrical flop, the tale of Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker) has become a beloved tradition. It will soon return to the big screen. As the film’s popularity grew over the years, calls for a sequel famously echoed across the internet from fans and its stars. In 2022, Disney finally worked magic and resurrected the Sanderson sisters for Hocus Pocus 2. But the hit streaming sequel wasn’t the only attempt to reignite the Black Flame Candle. A fully formed sequel existed for nearly half a decade before the Disney+ endeavor.
‘Hocus Pocus’ Had a Novelization and Follow-Up
It may have taken 29 years to produce a follow-up movie for the Halloween classic, but a Hocus Pocus sequel materialized. Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel was authored by A.W. Jantha and published by Disney Hyperion in 2018. The two-part novel debuted as a New York Times Best Seller and offered a deeper look into the world of Hocus Pocus. The book’s first half is a retelling of the original picture, but features a new character at the beginning: Elizabeth. Otherwise, it faithfully recounts the events with which audiences were already familiar. But it was the book’s second part that proved the most intriguing.
Set 25 years after the events of Hocus Pocus, the story follows a young girl named Poppy, the teenage daughter of Max Dennison (Omri Katz in the movie) and Allison (Vanessa Shaw). Right off the bat, it offers an exciting twist on the characters, as following their battle with the Sanderson sisters, Allison and Max have forbidden Halloween. While Max was not a massive fan of the holiday in the original film, it was a big part of Allison’s personality. With so much trauma left over from their encounter with the Sanderson sisters, it certainly raises the novel’s stakes, as it’s only a matter of time before their inevitable return.
With that return, things get wild; Poppy, who doesn’t believe the stories about her parents or her Aunt Dani (Thora Birch), accidentally casts a spell that sends the three legacy characters to hell in exchange for Winifred, Mary, and Sarah. While a baffling switch, it ups the ante compared to the original story. Poppy teams up with her friend, Travis, and her crush, Isabella, to defeat the witches and save her family, but there’s still one more big twist: the reveal of a fourth Sanderson sister. Elizabeth, from the novel’s first half, was the long forgotten-about sibling to Winifred, Mary, and Sarah, who lived a quiet life. Still, the Salem town folk did not spare her on the night the other three were hanged, though her children did manage to escape. This results in the revelation that Isabella is a descendant of Elizabeth’s bloodline. Of course, the day is saved, and the Sanderson sisters are once again defeated. While the book has quite a bit more haywire hijinks that the screen sequel would eventually bring just four years later, it’s undoubtedly ambitious fun. It does its best to craft an original story while honoring what came before. Still, it wasn’t Disney’s only way of keeping the characters or story alive.
‘Hocus Pocus’ Has a Long History Beyond the Films
Hocus Pocus’ legacy was never just limited to the screen. Disney has kept the characters alive and well in the decades between the two films. According to The Numbers, the film brought about huge sales on DVD and became the hallmark staple of Freeform’s annual 31 Nights of Halloween Celebration. At the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, a live stage show called Hocus Pocus Villian Spelltacular brought the Sanderson sisters to the Magic Kingdom park for its yearly Halloween celebrations. And, as talks of a third installment into the franchise continue, it’s pretty comforting knowing that Winifred, Mary, and Sarah will resurrect every Halloween for years to come.
