PRODUCTION BEGINS ON DISNEY+ ORIGINAL "HOCUS POCUS 2" WITH BETTE MIDLER, SARAH JESSICA PARKER, AND KATHY NAJIMY BACK AS THE DELIGHTFULLY WICKED SANDERSON SISTERS

Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, and Belissa Escobedo Join Cast of the Haunting Sequel to Disney's Halloween Cult Classic Directed by Anne Fletcher

Doug Jones, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, Hannah Waddingham, Froy Gutierrez Set to Co-Star in Live-Action Comedy Premiering Fall 2022, Exclusively On Disney+

BURBANK, Calif. (November 1, 2021) - Production on the live-action comedy "Hocus Pocus 2," the haunting sequel to Disney's Halloween cult classic, is underway in Rhode Island. The Disney+ original film directed by Anne Fletcher ("Dumplin,'" "The Proposal") will debut exclusively on Disney+ in Fall 2022.

Bette Midler ("The First Wives Club," "Beaches"), Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex and the City," "Divorce"), and Kathy Najimy ("Sister Act," "Younger") star as Winifred, Sarah, and Mary, the delightfully wicked Sanderson sisters who bewitched audiences in the 1993 film "Hocus Pocus." Doug Jones ("The Shape of Water," "What We Do in the Shadows") also returns as Billy Butcherson. Joining them are Whitney Peak ("Gossip Girl," "Molly's Game") as Becca, Lilia Buckingham ("Dirt," "Crown Lake") as Cassie, and Belissa Escobedo ("American Horror Stories," "The Baker and the Beauty") as Izzy, three young women in present-day Salem who incite the wrath of the three witches.

It's been 29 years since someone lit the Black Flame Candle and resurrected the 17th-century sisters who were executed for practicing witchcraft, and they are looking for revenge. Now it is up to three high-school students to figure out how to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before midnight on All Hallow's Eve.

"I am beyond thrilled to be involved in the sequel to a film that is as beloved as 'Hocus Pocus,'" says director Anne Fletcher. "Fans around the world have embraced these characters and have made this film a Halloween tradition whose popularity continues to grow, and how lucky am I to be back at Disney with these three extraordinarily talented ladies in the iconic roles they created, as well as our fabulous new additions to the cast?"

"Hocus Pocus 2" is written by Jen D'Angelo ("Happy Together," "Workaholics") and produced by Lynn Harris ("King Richard," "The Shallows"), with Adam Shankman ("Disenchanted," "Hairspray"), Ralph Winter ("Hocus Pocus," "X-Men" franchise) and David Kirschner ("Hocus Pocus," "Chucky") serving as executive producers.

Rounding out the cast are recent Emmy(R) winner Hannah Waddingham ("Ted Lasso," "Game of Thrones"), Tony Hale ("Veep," "Arrested Development"), Sam Richardson ("The Tomorrow War," "Good Boys"), Juju Brener ("Vanquish"), Froy Gutierrez ("Teen Wolf"), Taylor Paige Henderson and Nina Kitchen.

The cult classic Halloween film "Hocus Pocus" is now streaming on Disney+.

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