Did someone light the black flame candle again? Production has officially begun on Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to the Halloween favorite, and Sam Richardson is joining the cast alongside Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, who are returning as the iconic Sanderson sisters.
Richardson has gained fame for his role in HBO’s Veep. However, he is having a stellar 2021, starring alongside Chris Pratt in The Tomorrow War and having a small role in Ted Lasso. He also starred in the underrated horror-comedy Werewolves Within. Richardson is reuniting with Pratt once again in the upcoming Universal film Stranded Asset, which he co-wrote with Hocus Pocus 2 writer, Jen D’Angelo. It’s unclear what his role in Hocus Pocus 2 will be but Sam Richardson’s comedic presence is a solid addition to this film.
Hocus Pocus is a 1993 Disney film directed by Kenny Ortega and stars Midler, Najimy, and Jessica Parker as a trio of witches who are resurrected on Halloween night and try to suck the lives out of all of the town’s children. Despite being a box office flop, Hocus Pocus has achieved cult status and has become one of the most popular Halloween films to watch every year.
Hocus Pocus 2 has been in development for a while and is set to be released directly on Disney+. Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) took over directing duties from Adam Shankman, who is still attached as an executive producer along with Ralph winter and David Kirschner. The film recently began production as, according to The Providence Journal, a crew was seen shooting at La Salle University in Rhode Island. A sign outside of the school stated that Fairy Dust Productions, the company producing the film, would be “filming and that crews could film or make audio recordings of people in the school and that the movie company would own those recordings.”
Hocus Pocus 2 is expected to land on Disney+ in Fall 2022 and with production starting now, we could see this sequel drop right in time for Halloween 2022.
