Hocus Pocus 2 spoilers follow.
Sisters are doing it for themselves in Hocus Pocus 2, and while some assumed we'd left the Sanderson Sisters as piles of dust in 1993, Anne Fletcher lit the Black Flame Candle and brought back the OGs for another flight on their brooms (or vacuums). Doing the seemingly impossible, the long-mooted sequel reunited Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Even though Midler once slammed the idea of a Hocus Pocus remake as "cheap" (that didn't age well), she soon signed on with her original sisters when things moved forward as Hocus Pocus 2.
Sadly, apart from Doug Jones reprising his role as Billy Butcherson, actors including Vinessa Shaw, Omri Katz and Thora Birch didn't return as Allison, Max, and Dani. Of all of these, it's arguably a post-American Beauty Birch that's the most famous.
Even if Birch didn't come back for Hocus Pocus 2, fans spotted that the outfit Hannah Waddingham's Mother Witch wears is a homage to the one Dani wore on Halloween 1993. More than just being a throwaway wardrobe choice, it's possible that Dani was actually wearing her witch costume as a nod to Mother Witch.
The Sanderson Sisters are something of a big deal in Salem, so it's logical that Mother Witch also has a similar legacy in these parts. One of the big complaints about Hocus Pocus 2 is that Waddingham didn't play enough of a part, especially as she's the one that arguably kickstarts the events of both movies.
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In the year 1653, a young Winifred and her sisters come across Mother Witch, who is hiding out in the forbidden woods of Salem. Although we don't get to find out much about her backstory, we learn that Mother Witch was cast out by her coven, and consequently, doesn't have the potential power in numbers that the Sanderson Sisters have.
More than this, Mother Witch goes on to give Winifred her infamous spellbook, which also contains the "Magicae Maxima" spell the Sandersons try to use for revenge in 2022. From what little we see of Mother Witch, she's a powerful being who can transform into a bird.
Even though there's no word on Hocus Pocus 3 or a possible Disney+ spin-off series, the ending definitely suggests this isn't the last we've seen of Mother Witch. Ironically, her brief role in Hocus Pocus 2 is a retcon of what Disney previously established.
Fans were always told that the Devil gave the sisters Bookie, which is why they worshipped Garry Marshall's costumed "Master Devil" in Hocus Pocus. Some have incorrectly theorised that Mother Witch is actually a time-travelling Dani, but we'd like to nip that one in the bud.
Birch recently spoke to Entertainment Tonight and said she was originally going to return as Dani in Hocus Pocus 2. "I was just a little dismayed I wasn't able to make it," she said, adding, "I was working on something else when they were filming, otherwise I was definitely going to be there on set with the girls."
If you want to know what could've been, Belissa Escobedo (who played Izzy) told Entertainment Weekly, "She was going to be our schoolteacher. I remember talking to Anne [Fletcher] about it being a thing where she was our teacher, and we went to her for help." Instead, Birch had to pass because she was part of Netflix's Wednesday, which she eventually left as well.
A Dani-inspired costume (or is it the other way round?) isn't the only Easter egg Mother Witch has, and you might've noticed the song she sings to the sisters is "Garden of Magic," or as you might know it, "Come Little Children."
There are also more costume throwbacks hiding in plain sight, with one of the Salem revelers wearing the same cone-breasted Madonna outfit that Dani and Max's mum wore in the first movie, while Lilia Buckingham's Cassie wears a similar tie-dye top to the one Max had.
Sadly, the closest we get to the original trio of heroes returning in Hocus Pocus 2 is an alternate viewpoint of the Hocus Pocus finale, where a young version of Sam Richardson's Gilbert watched the witches' demise in the graveyard though stand-ins are used for Shaw, Katz, and Birch.
At least we know Birch is seemingly willing to come back, and if we wait another 300 years, there's always a chance the Sanderson Sisters will return… maybe with Dani and co in tow.
Hocus Pocus 2 is now available to watch on Disney+.
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Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen.
Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.
These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN.
Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.
