‘Hocus Pocus 2’ Begins Filming; Sam Richardson Joins Cast

After years of rumors and hopes, Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2 is finally really happening and has officially begun filming in Rhode Island.

A crew for the sequel filmed this week at La Salle Academy, where a sign outside the private Catholic school advised anyone entering that Fairy Dust Productions, the company producing the movie, would be shooting, according to The Providence Journal.

Original cast members Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, who played the iconic witches the Sanderson sisters in the 1993 family Halloween classic Hocus Pocus, are returning to reprise their roles in the sequel.

We’ve also learned that Sam Richardson (The Tomorrow War) has joined the cast of Hocus Pocus 2, according to THR.

Anne Fletcher (The Guilt Trip, 27 Dresses) is directing the sequel (Adam Shankman was previously attached and will now serve as an executive producer), from a script by Jen D’Angelo (Workaholics).

An early synopsis for the sequel explains: Three young women accidentally bring the Sanderson Sisters back to modern day Salem and must figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on the world.

The 1993 original was directed by Kenny Ortega from a script by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, based on a story by Garris and David Kirschner. It also starred Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, and Doug Jones (The Shape of Water) as Billy Butcherson, any of which could also return for the sequel, though we’ll have to wait for further confirmation.

A sequel of sorts has already happened in book form with 2018’s Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel.

Hocus Pocus 2 will be released for Halloween 2022 on Disney+.

We expect additional cast announcements coming very soon.

Read more Hocus Pocus news here.

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