After almost 30 years, the Sanderson sisters are coming back to scare the town of Salem.
While the witchy sisters Winifred, Sarah and Mary — played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy — have long been confirmed for the sequel, some stars from the 1993 original movie will not make a return.
“Hocus Pocus 2” director Anne Fletcher recently divulged to Entertainment Weekly that Vinessa Shaw and Omri Katz, who played teens Allison and Max, will not be reprising their roles in the new film.
Thora Birch — who played 8-year-old Dani in the original comedy — is also not coming back.
Apart from the witches, “Pan’s Labyrinth” star Doug Jones is the only actor returning from the first movie, reprising his role of Billy Butcherson, Winifred’s ex-boyfriend.
Fletcher explained that some of the original cast members are not coming back because producers found it “difficult” to incorporate them.
“We wanted to weave in all of the people that the fans loved, and when you sat back with all the ingredients and story, you’re like, how do we make this work?” she said. “It was very difficult to try to have them be a part of it, because we did talk about it — painstakingly.”
The director did say she considered cameo roles, but noted that she felt the old stars would be distracting to the new plot.
“You’re trying to stay on track with story, even if they came in as a cameo,” she said. “People would say, ‘They could be in the background!’ and I’m like, really? You’re going to put the leads of the first movie in the background and be satisfied? You’re not going to be satisfied, you’re going to be angry.”
New cast members include Sam Richardson, Hannah Waddingham, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo and Lilia Buckingham.
Fletcher also dished to the outlet that part of “Hocus Pocus 2” will take place in 1600s New England. The opening sequence, in particular, will show a flashback of how the Sanderson sisters came to be and will provide historical background on the havoc-wreaking siblings.
Fletcher added there will be “some wonderful surprises in the mythology” of the threesome and teased that “they’re not witches in the beginning.”
The Sandersons’ origin story is set to parallel the lives of the modern-day teens (Peak, Escobedo and Buckingham) who will resuscitate the sisters this time around in Salem.
“Hocus Pocus 2” will premiere Sept. 30 on Disney+.
