Bette Midler is not happy that Disney+ is dragging its feet when it comes to making Hocus Pocus, and, to no one’s surprise, she’s not mincing words about it.
Bette Midler starred in the original Hocus Pocus (1993) as Winifred Sanderson, a 17th-century New England witch, alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as her sisters Sarah and Mary. The original film involved a trio of modern-day youths (Omri Katz, Thora Birch, and Vinessa Shaw) who inadvertently summon the three witches to the 20th century and, with the assistance of a human-turned-cat (voiced by Jason Marsden) and a zombie (Doug Jones), spend their Halloween trying to find a way to save the city of Salem. Spoiler: they do.
Related: Report: ‘Hocus Pocus’ Prequel Series in the Works
Hocus Pocus was a box office bomb upon first release and was critically drubbed. However, annual showings of the Kenny Ortega-directed film on Halloween eventually built it up as a cult classic, and The Walt Disney Company has capitalized on it. To date, the former flop has produced Magic Kingdom’s Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular, an annual festival in the real-life Salem, appearances by the Sanderson Sisters in Kingdom Hearts, and has been the subject of scholarly examination.
It also eventually produced a Disney+ Original sequel in Hocus Pocus 2, which was released on the streaming platform in 2022. The sequel brought back Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Doug Jones and brought in new characters portrayed by Sam Richardson, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Tony Hale, and Hannah Waddingham; the sequel also humanized the Sanderson Sisters and gave a little backstory to their villainous ways.
Producer Adam Shankman and scriptwriter Jen D’Angelo (who wrote Hocus Pocus 2) have confirmed that a third movie is in development, which is hardly a surprise considering Disney’s current obsession with sequelizing literally any IP that it has the rights to.
Related: RuPaul Drag Queen Accuses Disney of Intentionally Altering ‘Hocus Pocus 2’, Bette Midler Responds
However, things aren’t happening fast enough for Bette Midler. In an appearance on Busy Philipps’ QVC+ talk show Busy This Week, the legendary singer/actress spoke about Hocus Pocus 3 and chided Disney for the project not being further along.
Bette Midler said, “I haven’t seen the script, but I’ve heard rumblings. “I think if they’re gonna, they oughta, because time is not just marching, time is barrel-assing to the finish line.”
To be fair, Midler was laughing as she said this (as you can see above), so this sounds more like the Mouse is being playfully dragged than cursed out by a cinematic witch. However, she did follow up by telling Disney to get it made while she, Parker, and Najimy have time on this Earth, saying:
“Get us while we’re still breathing, I mean, God!”
Do you want a third Hocus Pocus movie?
