The witches are back, baby, and they’re running positively amok.
Nearly 30 years after the original film was first released, Hocus Pocus 2 is finally about to give ’90s kids everywhere the spellbinding sequel they’ve always wanted. Weeks ahead of the film flying onto Disney Plus just in time for Halloween, Disney has released the official trailer as part of its D23 Expo festivities.
The trailer, which you can view above, offers a fresh look at what the plot of Hocus Pocus 2 entails ⏤ namely our three favorite sisters returning to Salem and giving the townspeople a night they’ll never forget. While the sequel’s plot looks somewhat similar to its predecessor, it also appears to have a few tricks up its sleeve.
The first is that the film will be exploring the Sanderson sisters’ backstory, as evidenced by a curious moment at the start of the trailer that finds the three young girls ⏤ banished from Salem ⏤ meeting a mysterious woman in the woods. Transforming from a bird into a beautiful witch, the woman ⏤ played by Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham ⏤ presents them with a certain eye-popping spell book and says, “Magic has a way of uniting. Happy sixteenth birthday, child.”
The trailer then takes us 370 years into the future, where black-flame candles are once again lit and a familiar cackle can be heard ringing out across Salem. The Sanderson sisters have inevitably returned, but instead of chasing down Max and his sister Dani, they’re now after a pair of young girls whose souls can keep them alive past sunrise ⏤ you know, so they don’t explode into colorful dust again. If the girls want to survive the night, they’re going to need a little bit of magic ⏤ and the help of a campy store clerk named Gilbert ⏤ to send the witches back to the grave.
Filled with flying broomsticks, well-meaning zombies, black cats, and the promise of an epic musical number, Hocus Pocus 2 seeks to give viewers many of the same tricks and treats that made the original an enduring favorite. Whether it meets or somehow manages to exceed the quality of its predecessor remains to be seen, but we have a sneaking suspicion that the original will always be the more magical entry in this budding franchise.
We’ll know for sure when Hocus Pocus cast its spell on Disney Plus Sept. 30, 2022.