Fall has arrived and that means it is the time for the customary annual viewing of the Halloween legend Hocus Pocus. This 1993 movie has become a legend for many years now and fans have been desperate to get a sequel for the film. Even its actors Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najmy have expressed their wish to reunite for a sequel. Now, we seem to be all set to get this wish fulfilled, at least to some extent.
Reports have come from Deadline about Disney Channel preparing to recreate a new Hocus Pocus TV movie to be written by Scarlett Lacey who has earlier written The Royals, and David Kirschner (producer of the original movie) coming onboard as executive producer. Then, what’s the problem?
The thing is that the new Hocus Pocus film will not be a sequel, but, a recreation of the original. Also, neither the original cast, nor the director Kenny Ortega are making a comeback to this project.
This development must be shocking for the Hocus Pocus legion of fans. The writer of the original film, Mick Garris recently told Forbes about having heard rumors of the TV sequel of this Halloween classic being in the works. This excited the fans, but, now it seems that the project has been shelved and the story is being revamped to give a makeover to the Sanderson sisters for a modern generation of TV viewers.
There has been no announcement about the remake coming on Disney Channel or elsewhere or about the cast. While, the fans were not certainly praying for a remake, the fact that there was a strong demand for a sequel must have given Disney a clear indication of the film’s popularity.
Therefore, we can just hope for another entertaining version of this beloved Halloween story which might feature at least a brief cameo from the original trio. We are just going to wait till Disney comes out with some official word about the project and in the meanwhile, let’s enjoy this Halloween with another viewing of the cult classic.
