If it’s October, it must be time to putHocus Pocuson the TV on a loop—but soon there may betwoversions of the Halloween classic to choose from. Released in 1993,Hocus Pocuswas not a success either commercially or critically, but it gained a strong cult following thanks to near-constant plays on Disney Channel and ABC Family every Halloween. While there have beenrumblings about a possible sequelfor years given the film’s devoted fandom, Deadline now reports that Disney Channel is actually in the early stages of developing aHocus Pocusremake (or “reimagining” as they call it), which would feature none of the original cast.
This newHocus Pocusis being written byScarlett Lacey(The Royals) withDavid Kirschner, who produced the original, on board to executive produce.Kenny Ortega, who directed the firstHocus Pocus, is not involved, nor are starsBette Midler,Sarah Jessica Parker, orKathy Najimy.
Interestingly enough, the originalHocus Pocuswas first developed as a Disney Channel original movie before Walt Disney Studios caught wind of the script and thought it would make a fine theatrical feature film.Leonardo DiCapriofamously turned down the lead role of Max to doWhat’s Eating Gilbert Grapeinstead, and while the film put together a swell cast (including a very youngThora Birch), it didn’t quite hit during its theatrical run.
I’m not sure there’s really an audience for aHocus Pocusremake, but then again I’m not necessarily in tune with the current demographic for Disney Channel. I do know Millennials who adore the original are probably unlikely to check this out (the original is on TV constantly during Halloween, after all), so if this does move into production, it’ll almost certainly be made with an eye toward modern youngsters and not trying to tap into the nostalgia folks feel for the first movie.
What say you,Hocus Pocusfans? Would you be interested in checking out this remake? Who’s your dream cast for the new version? Sound off in the comments below.
