Is ‘Hocus Pocus 3’ in Limbo?

Fans were gifted with a second Hocus Pocus, no thanks to the streaming boom caused by the COVID shutdowns.

In the 1993 family classic, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy starred as the Sanderson sisters, a trio of diabolical witches originally resurrected in Salem, Mass. by a young boy, Max (Omri Katz), and his sister, Dani (Thora Birch).

After years of momentum following the success of Hocus Pocus 2, development on a third installment appears to have stalled amid major leadership changes at Disney, despite earlier assurances and a reportedly completed script. With shifting priorities and no concrete updates, the future of Hocus Pocus 3 now seems increasingly uncertain.

The 2022 sequel reunited Midler, Parker, and Najimy but did not include Katz or Birch, both of whom appeared on a Megacon panel last weekend, hosted by Collider.

Obviously, the topic of Hocus Pocus 3 came up:

While Midler’s comments last year suggested some movement towards making the threequel happen, Katz hasn’t heard anything of note. “Your first question about Hocus Pocus 3, as far as I know, there is a development deal, and that’s all I think we know,” he responded. James Marsden, who also appeared in the first film, further clarified that, “No one has contacted us.”

It’s important to note that none of the four reprised their roles in Anne Fletcher‘s sequel, but they’ve been vocal about wanting to return as Max, Allison, Dani, and Binx in the third movie, if they were to get the call.

“But yeah, it was announced that it was greenlit,” Marsen noted. “We have not been contacted, and then you all know this new CEO with Disney, which means things are going to change even more. We don’t know the life of this. If they do it, and they invite us, absolutely. I think we’d all like to do it again, totally.”

Would you like to see the OG cast return in Hocus Pocus 3, assuming the Sanderson are ever resurrected?