Original film cast members Omri Katz and Vinessa Shaw will not be reprising their character roles in Hocus Pocus 2 for Disney+.
The two actors previously played Salem teens Max and Allison in the first film. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hocus Pocus 2 director Anne Fletcher explained it was too much of a challenge to come up with a reasonable way to insert them in the story:
“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?” Fletcher explains. “It was very difficult to try to have them be a part of it, because we did talk about it — painstakingly. You’re trying to stay on track with story, even if they came in as a cameo. 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.”
Outside of the actresses behind the witches, Doug Jones is the only returning actor from the first movie.
Related: First look at Billy Butcherson in Hocus Pocus 2
The live-action, long-awaited sequel to the perennial Halloween classic, which brings back the delightfully wicked Sanderson sisters for more comedic mayhem, will debut on Disney+ on September 30.
It’s been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters, and they are looking for revenge.
Now it is up to three high-school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve.
“Hocus Pocus 2” also stars Sam Richardson (“The Tomorrow War”), Doug Jones (“The Shape of Water”), Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”), Whitney Peak (“Gossip Girl”), Belissa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories”), Lilia Buckingham (“Dirt”), Froyan Gutierrez (“Teen Wolf”), and Tony Hale (“Veep”).
The film is directed by Anne Fletcher (“Dumplin,’” “The Proposal”) and produced by Lynn Harris (“King Richard,” “The Shallows”), with Ralph Winter (“Hocus Pocus,” “X-Men” franchise), David Kirschner (“Hocus Pocus,” “Chucky”) and Adam Shankman (“Disenchanted,” “Hairspray”) serving as executive producers.
Related: Halloween Treats & Drinks coming to Disneyland
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