Evan Rachel Wood Says the Only Person Who Reached Out After She Was Recast in ‘Practical Magic 2’ Was Joey King, the Actress Replacing Her

02 Sep 2026, 19:50 by Chrissy Stockton · Thought Catalog

Practical Magic (1998)

Updated 2 hours ago, September 2, 2026

Evan Rachel Wood played Kylie in Practical Magic when she was 11. Nearly 30 years later she got recast, and she says the one person who checked on her was Joey King, the actress who took the part.

A scene from the 1998 film Practical Magic, in which Evan Rachel Wood appeared as a child. (Practical Magic, 1998)

“I really appreciated Joey King reaching out to me because no one who worked on the original film did. She’s a sweetheart,” Wood, 38, wrote on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, September 1.

Joey King steps out at the Practical Magic 2 premiere, held at Directors Village in Los Angeles on August 31, 2026. Photo by Monica Schipper / Getty Images.

King, 27, is stepping into Kylie Owens, one of Sandra Bullock’s daughters in the 1998 original, for the upcoming Practical Magic 2. At the Los Angeles premiere on August 31, she told The Hollywood Reporter she’d had a “lovely” exchange with Wood about the switch. “She made this role so special when she was a young girl,” King said. “I love Evan so much and I’m so appreciative of her kind words.”

At the SVA Theater in New York City, Evan Rachel Wood attends the world premiere of FX’s “The Shards” on July 27, 2026. Photo by Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images.

Wood first revealed the recasting in July 2025, writing that she offered to return “even if it was one scene or one line” and was told they were going another direction. She later told Entertainment Tonight the sequel strays from the source book: “I think in the book it would have made sense to bring me back.”

Joey King, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, and Maisie Williams step out together for the Practical Magic 2 premiere at Directors Village in Los Angeles on August 31, 2026. Photo by Valerie Macon / AFP via Getty Images.

She isn’t the only one left out. Alexandra Artrip, who played Kylie’s sister Antonia, was replaced by Maisie Williams. Director Susanne Bier told The Hollywood Reporter the change came down to age, saying the characters are “literally out of college” and that Joey and Maisie “just felt completely right.” Bullock and Nicole Kidman are back as the leads, with Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing returning as the aunts.

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