Bette Midler is offering a brief update on Hocus Pocus 3.
The original movie set around the witchy Sanderson sisters debuted in 1993, with the long-awaited sequel arriving to Disney+ in 2022. Following the success of Hocus Pocus 2, Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, confirmed a third film was in the works in June 2023.
Fast forward over two years since Bailey’s announcement, Bette Midler, who plays one of the three Sanderson sisters, told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she has seen a script for Hocus Pocus 3.
“Well, you know, they sent a script, and a lot of it was brilliant,” she said when asked if there will be a third film. “So I got very excited.”
Midler added, “And now we’re trying to figure out what it is and where it’s going to be and how much it’s going to cost and all those logistical things.”
Hocus Pocus 2 was quite the hit for Disney+, and notably set a record at the time for an opening weekend by a movie on a streamer (with 2.7 billion minutes viewed). Overall, the film also landed as the No. 6 most-streamed movie of 2022, with 5.7 billion minutes viewed.
The First Wives Club star led the first two movies alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy. Kenny Ortega directed the original film, while Anne Fletcher helmed Hocus Pocus 2.
Fletcher is set to return for Hocus Pocus 3 alongside Jen D’Angelo, who wrote the 2022 sequel, THR previously reported.