Disney is remaking ‘Hocus Pocus’
A classic Halloween movie filmed and set in Salem is getting a remake.
Hocus Pocus, the 1993 film that starred Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy as witches resurrected in modern-day Salem, is set to be reborn as a TV movie. According to Deadline, none of the original cast will be part of the TV remake, which will also have a new director and writer. David Kirschner, who acted as a producer for the original film and whose bedtime story to his daughters served as inspiration for the original story, will executive produce.
The film was neither a critical nor commercial success when first released, but has built a cult following that has grown in part thanks to annual Halloween airings of the film on the Disney-owned Freeform channel. The film was shot in Salem and Marblehead, and the house that served as a primary location in the film still stands in Salem, though it is privately owned.
Despite the fact that Midler, Parker, and Najimy have all expressed interest in a Hocus Pocus sequel, Disney decided to go in another direction, a decision that hasn’t sat well with some fans of the original.
https://twitter.com/itslaurenyap/status/913407972864389120
Hang on, they’re doing a Hocus Pocus REMAKE not sequel? pic.twitter.com/ZYvSFyn7Br
— Liam (@liamo_dh) September 28, 2017
I WAS FINE WHEN YOU REMADE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. I WAS FINE WHEN YOU REMADE ALICE. BUT DON’T TOUCH HOCUS POCUS WITHOUT THE ORIGINAL CAST pic.twitter.com/bYWtdJD5Ae
— anthony amorim is nostalgic (@AnthonyAmorim) September 28, 2017
There’s no word yet on who will be part of the new cast or when the new film is set to air.
