Bring back the Sanderson sisters! The cast of Hocus Pocus recently reunited and teased their hopes for a sequel. The 1993 hit movie starred Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as witches who returned to Salem on Halloween night after a virgin lit the black flame candle. Although it’s been 16 years since the movie hit theaters, it’s a staple in the fall, especially on Freeform; this year, it airs 30 times as part of the “31 Nights of Halloween” lineup.
So, will there ever be a second movie? Vinessa Shaw, who played Allison Watts, took to Instagram on Wednesday, October 1, to share a new photo of some of the cast members back together. In the photo, she poses around a crystal ball with Larry Bagby (Ice), Tobias Jelinek (Jay), Omri Katz (Max Dennison) and Doug Jones (Billy Butcherson). “Oh 🔮, will there be a #2?” she asks in the caption, before adding, “‘Tis time!”
The group got back together for the taping of Freeform’s “31 Nights of Halloween Fan Fest” special on September 12 at the Hollywood Forever Ceremony. Shaw, 43, opened up to Us Weekly at the event about how important the movie has been to her throughout her life.
“It’s a sweet sentiment,” she told Us exclusively about revisiting the movie again. “I don’t feel bad about reliving Halloween moments but it’s not my favorite holiday!”
Since she was only 17 when the movie came out, the 3:10 to Yuma actor really looked up to Midler, Parker and Nijimy, the actress said.
“I had watched Sarah Jessica in Square Pegs, the show that was on TV at the time and I thought she was so cool,” Shaw shared. “I knew that she was a child actor and I was wanting to ask her all these questions about what it was like to be a child actor, and she was very maternal toward me, in that respect. Bette Midler, obviously every single movie she was in I worshiped as well. … I barely saw her because she was always having to do more makeup than the other witches, unfortunately. But I just remember her being so wonderful and warm to me.”
While she continued acting after the film, she took a break last year after welcoming her first child, Jack, with husband Kristopher Gifford.
“I did take time off to be a mom and that was really important to me. I wanted to not let other people raise my son. I have so much more respect for mothers and what they have to go through,” the Eyes Wide Shut star said at the event. “It’s a day in, day out situation. You know they say it’s the hardest job in the world. It really is, in many ways. No matter how fun it is, it’s still very hard. I am having the best time and I’m starting to go back to work.”
31 Nights of Halloween Fan Fest airs on Freeform Saturday, October 5 at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Marisa Sullivan
