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In the words of Winifred Sanderson (Bette Midler), ‘tis time. Time for a Hocus Pocus remake that is. But don’t expect to get spooky on Halloween watching a new generation of teens in Salem, Mass., stop the Sanderson sisters from sucking the life out of the city’s children before sunrise. Ahead, learn why we probably won’t see a Hocus Pocus remake until next year.

Initially very different from what audiences saw in the final cut of Hocus Pocus that hit theaters in July of 1993 — yes, July — the Kenny Ortega directed movie originated as a bedtime story. It took years to make and didn’t produce stellar numbers at the box office right away.

Bette Midler
Bette Midler dressed as Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus | Rebecca Smeyne/Getty Images

A little bit of hocus pocus — and lots of airings on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween — the film’s become a cult classic. It’s to October what A Christmas Story is to December. Find how to watch the movie on Freeform this month plus, learn whether or not Hocus Pocus is available to stream on Netflix or Hulu

‘Hocus Pocus’ remake may premiere in 2020

Here’s what we know about the remake of the movie starring Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Earlier this year, reports surfaced about a potential spin-off movie being in the works. 

“A Hocus Pocus 2 is in development that will have a new cast and is expected to release on Freeform (or possibly on Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+),” Screen Ranted reported in February. Disney+ is set to launch next month with Hocus Pocus among the many, many offerings on the platform. According to Collider, Disney+ released a three-hour trailer — yes, really — teasing movies and TV shows that will be available.

Back in 2017, Disney retweeted a story from Oh My Disney about a Hocus Pocus remake being in the works.

As of Oct. 2019, no cast has been confirmed and as far as we know, the remake has yet to begin production. Although there’s been a lot of talk about a remake, Disney hasn’t confirmed or denied that one is currently underway. 

Meaning, there’s no way audiences will see a new iteration of Hocus Pocus before the year ends. It’s likely the remake will premiere of Disney+ in 2020 — maybe in July like the original or in the month of October — just in time for Halloween. Unfortunately, Najimy, Midler, Parker, and the rest of the original cast will likely not make an appearance in the Hocus Pocus remake. 

But Vinessa Shaw, who played Allison in the original movie, gave fans hope in the form of an Instagram post earlier this month. On Oct. 2, she shared a picture of her and other cast members from Hocus Pocus, standing around a crystal ball. She captioned the post, “Oh , will there be a #2?…‘Tis time! ,” suggesting to fans a remake is on the way. But, again, Disney hasn’t officially said one is in the works. 

In the meantime, we’ll continue watching Hocus Pocus on repeat.

Find out Parker’s favorite memory from filming Hocus Pocus — it’s certainly unexpected.

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