"Hocus Pocus 3" Writer Shares Update on Threequel

Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy last year reprised their roles as the Sanderson Sisters in the live-action comedy sequel to Disney's 1993 Halloween classic movie "Hocus Pocus".

"Hocus Pocus 2" saw the return of the Sanderson sisters as they once again tried to wreak havoc on Salem when another turn with the Black Flame Candle brought them back to life. 

In the sequel, two young girls are tricked into bringing the witches back to life by the person who runs the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe inside their old cottage. With the Sanderson sisters still fairly angry at the town of Salem for casting them out, they once again plan to use their magic to make the people of Salem regret ever getting in their way.

The success of the movie upon its release on Disney+ compelled the studio to greenlight another sequel, which is currently in development for the streaming platform. As often happens with franchises, every subsequent sequel is harder to make. 

During a recent interview with Collider for her upcoming comedy Quiz Lady, writer Jen D'Angelo spoke about the challenges of writing the upcoming third installment of the franchise, saying: "Yes, I have my theories about what we could see, and what things mean and where we could take these characters." 

Of the daunting task of carrying on the franchise, D'Angelo noted, "It’s interesting to be like, 'Now we have even more possibility' and it’ll be a challenge to sort of pick the avenue and really make the movie stand on its own."

She also addressed how Winifred has changed after the second movie, teasing another plot of revenge for the wicked witch of Salem.

"With the Sanderson sisters, the thing that makes them so fun is that they really are like herding cats. So I’m like 'Yes, Winifred learned a very valuable lesson, she loves her sisters more than anything in the world,' but she will also just immediately get distracted by whatever’s put in front of her. So if you dangle the carrot of a potential revenge against Salem, which she has always wanted, she might have a backslide where she gets singularly focused on the wrong goal again. "