Hocus Pocus 3 Development Update: Cast, Plot, and Release Timeline Revealed
By Published May 6, 2026, 1:39 PM EDT
Ryan Northrup is a Senior Staff Writer on ScreenRant's Movie & TV News team, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and reviews. A graduate of McMaster University, Ryan began his career in public relations before attending Vancouver Film School. There, he built lasting industry connections and optioned a feature film screenplay.
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Released in 1993, the first Hocus Pocus stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as a trio of diabolical witches who are awoken in present day Salem. The film became a cult classic, and a sequel was released on Disney+ in 2026. Shortly after, there was , but a leadership change at Disney raised questions about the film's future.
now reports that Hocus Pocus 3 is in early development at Disney Live Action Studios. Original stars Midler, Parker, and Najimy are all expected to return. The report also notes that, unlike the straight-to-streaming Hocus Pocus 2, the third movie could get some play in theaters. Plot details for the third installment are being kept under wraps and there's no clear timeline yet for when it could release.
The news follows an announcement from Sean Bailey, former President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, who said in 2026 that development on a third film was underway. Bailey, however, left the studio in 2026, and that left Hocus Pocus 3 in a state of uncertainty.
Last fall, Middler shared a promising update on the Hocus Pocus 3 script during an appearance on . With a "brilliant" script complete, the actor explained that figuring out the logistics of making another sequel was the next thing that needed to happen. As Middler explained:
They sent a script and a lot of it was brilliant. So, I got very excited, and now we're trying to figure out what it is and how it's going and where it's going to be and how much it's going to cost.
According to the Deadline report, it was the salary negotiations for Middler, Parker, and Najimy that briefly halted progress on the third film. Those salaries, however, are said to have now been worked out.
were somewhat mixed from critics. On , the film has a lukewarm 65%, with critics noting that it has relatively little to offer beyond nostalgia for the original. The audience response was even less enthusiastic, with the Popcornmeter coming in at only 47%.
Despite this middling response, the film was a massive hit for Disney+. Hocus Pocus 2 racked up 2.725 billion minutes of streaming in its first weekend of availability on the platform, making it, at the time, the largest debut ever for a streaming movie. Another sequel, then, is a no-brainer for Disney.
The sequel, which hails from director Anne Fletcher, follows the Sanderson Sisters as they are awoken in modern-day Salem once more, with high school students Becca (Whitney Peak) and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) then forced to try to contain them. The Hocus Pocus 2 cast featured several newcomers to the franchise, including Hannah Waddingham, Tony Hale, and Sam Richardson.
It's unclear whether actors like Peak, Escobedo, and Waddingham will return for the third film, but more news about cast and story may not be too far off. Though many questions remain about Hocus Pocus 3, audiences will evidently be getting one more adventure with the Sanderson Sisters.
Cast
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Bette Midler Winifred Sanderson -
Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Sanderson -
Kathy Najimy Mary Sanderson
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