Almost 30 years since the Black Flame Candle was lit, the Sanderson sisters have returned.
A trailer has been released for Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel to the 1993 Disney film starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as three resurrected witches who are looking to exact revenge.
The latest film sees them return to present-day Salem, Massachusetts, where a new group of high school students must band together to stop the sisters.
When is ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ coming out?
The film will be released as a Disney+ original, meaning it will be on the streaming platform from September 30.
Who is in the cast?
Midler, Parker and Najimy will reprise their roles as witches Winifred, Sarah and Mary Sanderson. Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, Belissa Escobedo also star as Becca, Cassie and Izzy, friends who accidentally resurrect the witches and are left trying to stop them.
Doug Jones returns as Billy Butcherson, an ex-boyfriend poisoned by Winnie in 1693 who is brought back to life as a zombie.
Also joining the cast are Hannah Waddingham, who plays the Witch, a mysterious new character, Tony Hale, who appears as Jefry Traske, the mayor of Salem, and Sam Richardson as Gilbert, the owner of the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe.
What is ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ about?
The one-and-a-half-minute teaser offers the first glimpse of Midler, Parker and Najimy reprising their roles as the Sanderson sisters — looking much like they very much identical to what they did in the 1993 film.
We're introduced to high school students Becca, Cassie and Izzy who are preparing for a Halloween birthday ritual, which includes a stop at the magic shop. Gilbert, the shop owner, offers some cautionary words about how legend suggests that "on her 16th birthday, a witch gets her powers." The trailer then shows Becca and Izzy light the Black Flame Candle, bringing the Sanderson sisters back from the dead.
"Lock up your children! Yes, Salem, we're back!" squeals Winifred Sanderson at the end of the clip, amid crashes of thunder and lightning. Next a short scene shows a man at the fair asking the witches if they're "looking for the stage" — a clear reference to their memorable I Put a Spell on You performance from the first film.
"Always," Winifred says with a sinister look in her eye.
