“Hocus Pocus 3” Writer Teases Hannah Waddingham Return
Following the massive success of the Disney+ Original film, “Hocus Pocus 2”, it should come as no surprise that Disney has been developing a third instalment in the popular Halloween-themed franchise, which tells the story of three witches who are resurrected after 300 years to exact revenge and begin a reign of terror.
Recently, screenwriter Jen D’Angelo spoke to Entertainment Weekly and confirmed that development on a third film is still ongoing:
“We’re still in the story phase, we’re still working on it. We’ve been working on some ideas, and it’s been fun to dive back into that world and we have so many directions in which to go and so many new characters to explore,”
The film is still in the very early stages of development, especially with the writer’s strike halting any work on the project for months over the summer, with Jen D’Angelo confirming that no storylines are concrete just yet and they are exploring where they might take the Sanderson Sisters next.
She also went on to tease that we are likely going to see much more from the mother witch character, who was played by “Ted Lasso’s” Hannah Waddingham in the Disney+ film, stating:
“We’ve only scratched the surface of Hannah Waddingham’s mother witch. I believe that she’s that mother, that she is the scorpion pie mother, and that they had a much more significant relationship with her than we’ve yet to see. But, maybe we will see.”
In the recent sequel, we got to see the characters as children, but it sounds like the focus is going to remain on the adult versions of the sisters, who are played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, adding that “we for sure want to see them again as adults”.
“I’m hoping that we are able to explore every aspect of these stories and take these characters on a bunch of fun adventures. 3 is still very much in the early stages, we don’t really know what it is, but we’re exploring all options and I think everybody is so delighted by the reaction that Hocus Pocus 2 got, and we’re excited to continue those stories,”
Both “Hocus Pocus” and “Hocus Pocus 2” are available to stream on Disney+ now. The films have become some of the streaming services’ best-performing films, as every Halloween season, often topping not just the Disney+ trending tab, but the Nielsen streaming charts, over films on other platforms.
It’s probably going to be a little longer until we get to see a “Hocus Pocus 3” on Disney+, especially following the actor’s and writer’s strikes causing delays. I don’t think it would be a huge surprise to see Disney shift the movie to a theatrical release first, as it’s likely Disney lost millions in box office revenue in sending the sequel directly to Disney+, even though it was one of the biggest premieres on the platform all year.
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