‘Hocus Pocus 2’ adds Hannah Waddingham, Tony Hale and 9 others to cast

PTI, Nov 1, 2021, 12:40 PM IST

”Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham, ”Veep” stars Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, and ”Gossip Girl” reboot star Whitney Peak have joined ”Hocus Pocus 2”, the upcoming sequel to the 1993 family fantasy film from Walt Disney.

Original lead stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are set to return for the follow-up movie set up at the streamer Disney Plus.

The studio made the announcement through its official Disney Plus Twitter, alongside a video featuring the sequel’s logo.

Also boarding the cast are ”Crown Lake” actor Lilia Buckingham, Belissa Escobedo (”Don’t Look Deeper”), Juju Brener, known for ”Vanquish”; Froy Gutierrez (”Teen Wolf”), Taylor Henderson and Nina Kitchen.

The original ”Hocus Pocus” starred Midler, Parker and Najimy as a trio of Sanderson witch sisters who are resurrected 300 years after the Salem witch trials and make the horrifying discovery that Halloween is now a beloved holiday.

According to Deadline, the sequel has three young women accidentally bringing back the Sanderson Sisters to modern-day Salem. They must then figure out how to stop the child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world.

Doug Jones, who starred in the original ”Hocus Pocus”, is also returning for the sequel.

Anne Fletcher, known for directing popular rom-coms like ”The Proposal” and ”27 Dresses”, will helm the sequel that was announced by Disney in 2019.

Fletcher took over directorial duties after her frequent collaborator Adam Shankman bowed out of the position due to scheduling conflicts.

Shankman remains attached as an executive producer, along with Ralph Winter. Lynn Harris will also produce the film, with Steven Haft serving as co-producer.

”Hocus Pocus 2” will premiere on Disney Plus late next year.