It took nearly three decades for the Halloween cult classic Hocus Pocus to finally get its sequel, and it was worth the long wait. In 2022, Hocus Pocus 2 hit Disney+ and was an immediate hit, quickly becoming the streamer’s most-watched original movie ever. With that kind of success, many are hopeful it won’t take Hocus Pocus 3 as long to come into fruition. The film was confirmed to be in the works a couple of years ago, but there seemingly hasn’t been much concrete progress made on it since. Fortunately, the latest update from star Bette Midler will be encouraging for fans.
During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Midler was asked about the possibility of Hocus Pocus 3. “They sent a script, and a lot of it was brilliant,” she said. “So I got very excited. And now we’re sort of, like, trying to figure out what it is … where it’s going to be, how much it’s going to cost, and all those logistical things.”
Midler’s update is a bit of good news for Hocus Pocus fans. Earlier this year, her franchise co-star Sarah Jessica Parker said there were “no more developments [on Hocus Pocus 3] other than we would like to do it.” In the months since Parker made those comments, it would appear some progress on the film has been made. If there’s a script in place, it means Disney remains committed to getting Hocus Pocus 3 off the ground. Now that the story has seemingly been ironed out, the creative team can start working on a solution to those “logistical things” Midler mentions.
It’ll be very interesting to learn Disney’s release strategy for Hocus Pocus 3. The previous sequel was a massive hit on streaming, but there might be a chance the studio opts for a theatrical premiere for the next installment. Hocus Pocus 2 came out at a different period in the streaming era, and it appears Disney’s strategy on that front has changed somewhat. This is most apparent in outputs for key franchises like Marvel and Star Wars; Disney told Star Wars: Andor showrunner Tony Gilroy that “streaming is dead,” leading to a pivot back to theatrical releases. Each property is different, and original content for Disney+ is still being produced, but given the enduring popularity of Hocus Pocus, there could be some value in having it play on the big screen, turning it into a Halloween event.
In the past, Midler has emphasized the importance of making Hocus Pocus 3 sooner rather than later. If the film is to come to fruition soon — potentially for a release next Halloween — the ball will have to get rolling quickly. As a comparison, Hocus Pocus 2 started shooting in October 2021 and wrapped in January 2022 ahead of its September 2022 release. It stands reason to believe Hocus Pocus 3 would be subject to a similar production timeline — unless there’s a drastic shift to a much larger scale and scope. Depending on how quickly any logistical issues get resolved, there’s an outside chance cameras could start rolling either late this year or very early next year, which could give the filmmakers ample time to complete the movie.
This’ll be a balancing act for Disney. On one hand, the desire to make Hocus Pocus 3 as soon as possible is understandable for a variety of reasons, but it would also be disappointing if the threequel was rushed for the sake of capitalizing on the brand recognition. It’s perhaps a good sign no official release date has been set yet, meaning the filmmakers aren’t under any pressure to get the movie ready for a specific window. They can take the necessary time to make sure all the pieces are in place and then movie forward with what will hopefully be a new holiday classic.
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