Bette Midler Says She’s Seen a Script for ‘Hocus Pocus 3’: ‘A Lot of It Was Brilliant’

Bette Midler may soon be casting new spells, following the actress giving an update on the status of Hocus Pocus 3.

The long-awaited third installment in the Hocus Pocus franchise — where the actress portrays Salem witch Winifred Sanderson — has a script, Midler said on a recent appearance of Watch What Happens Live.

“Well, you know, they sent a script. And a lot of it was brilliant,” she told the host Andy Cohen.

She added: “So I got very excited, and now we’re sort of like trying to figure out what it is and where it’s going to be and how much it’s going to cost and all those logistical things.”

The film flopped theatrically when it was released in 1993, but became a cult classic and staple during the Halloween season and at drag shows. It also turned the town of Salem, the site of the 1692 witch trials and where the movie was shot, into a place inundated with Hocus Pocus fans particularly during Halloween season.

In 2022, Midler reteamed with her onscreen Sanderson sisters, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, for Hocus Pocus 2, which was a bonafide hit. It set a streaming record for Disney+, garnering 2.7 billion minutes of viewing in a week, per Deadline. Following its success, Sean Bailey, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, told The New York Times that a third Hocus Pocus was in development.

Trending Stories

Limp Bizkit Bassist Sam Rivers Dead at 48
Taylor Swift Donates $100,000 to Young Fan Battling Cancer Who Calls Star ‘My Friend’
What ‘Monster: The Ed Gein Story’ Gets Right and Wrong
Why This Nineties High School Punk Band Is Suddenly Bigger Than Ever

Midler remarked to Cohen how the sequel “took 30 years” to happen. “We used to lobby Disney all the time: ‘C’mon, Hocus Pocus, yeah, look at these numbers!’” Midler and Cohen also marveled at the second movie’s success. “Billions of watches,” Midler said. “Billions! I’d never heard that number before.”

A production schedule and release date for Hocus Pocus 3 has not yet been revealed.