Disney has certainly had its fair share of reboots, revivals, remakes, and sequels over the last several years, with live-action remakes in particular dominating the franchise, and although many of those additions have received plenty of criticism, one rather unexpected new announcement might actually be welcomed with open arms by ’90s Disney fans. While Disney still puts out plenty of new and original movies year after year, such as its upcoming movie Hexed, there’s little doubt that the brand has, in part, become known for its nostalgia. While that also dates back considerably further than the 1990s, with movies like Snow White released in the 1930s, the ‘golden age’ of Disney is seen by many as the late ’80s, ’90s, and early ’00s—think The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, etc.
Halloweentown might not be as well known as some of those titles, but for diehard Disney fans, it is seen as yet another classic, and it was popular enough at the time it was released (1998 for the first movie) that it went on to have multiple sequels, with Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge releasing in 2001, Halloweentown High releasing in 2004, and Return to Halloweentown releasing in 2006. Now, 20 years later, Halloweentown 5 has shockingly just been announced, meaning that this franchise is getting a completely unexpected—but still very exciting—return. Here’s everything we know so far.
As reported by Variety, Halloweentown 5 is currently confirmed to be in development, but the details are being kept tightly under wraps for now. The plot is currently unknown, although it has been revealed that the movie is being written by Lily Houghton and Ryan Koehn and that the story will be based on characters created by Paul Bernbaum, the writer of the original Halloweentown movie. Thus far, there’s been no indication regarding whether that means returning cast members from the previous movies, although many fans will likely be hoping that is the case. In fact, perhaps the most obvious and natural choice for a storyline would be a modern day revisiting of the Cromwell/Piper family, revealing what their lives look like now.
Granted, there are complexities to that. The matriarch of the family, Aggie Cromwell, was played by Debbie Reynolds, who has since died. Additionally, while Kimberly J. Brown played protagonist Marnie Piper in the first three Halloweentown movies, she was replaced by Sara Paxton in Return to Halloweentown. It would therefore be interesting to see who would be the one to play her if these characters were returning for Halloweentown 5. Of course, it’s possible that this new movie will instead focus on an entirely different set of characters; for now, we just don’t know. Either way, it’s as exciting as it is unexpected to hear that Disney is revisiting this beloved franchise 20 years later.
What are you hoping to see from the story in Halloweentown 5? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
