It’s official! Hocus pocus enchants you for the third time!

Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, discussed upcoming live-action projects The New York Times in June 2023 that a third film was in development.

Although no further details regarding the release date and cast have been announced, many stars from the first two installments have expressed their desire to return. Some writers have even teased what Hocus Pocus 3 could be approximately.

“I hope we can explore every aspect of these stories and take these characters on a series of fun adventures.” Hocus Pocus 2 Screenwriter Jen D’Angelo narrated Weekly entertainment in October 2023.”3 is still at the very beginning; We don’t really know what it is.

D’Angelo continued: “I want to please the fans and definitely keep in mind what they want to see, but at the same time I feel like films can go a little wrong if they only cater to what fans want .” the fans and trying to check off a list like, “We have this and that, so the fans should be happy.” ”

The ending of the 2022 sequel – set almost 30 years after the events of the first film – provides a nice conclusion for the famous Sanderson sisters (Bette Midler as Winifred, Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah and Kathy Najimy as Mary). However, a scene in the end credits hints at the potential for another evil chapter.

Now this Hocus Pocus 3 has been confirmed, here’s everything the cast and creators have said about the upcoming film (and how the ending sets up the story).

(Warning: spoilers for Hocus Pocus 2 in advance!)

What is the end credits scene? Hocus Pocus 2?

At the end of the film, the Sanderson sisters are defeated again, with a little help from Becca (Whitney Peak), who apparently turns out to be a witch herself. After Winifred (Midler) performs a dark spell called Magicæ Maxima to make her the most powerful witch of all, she quickly realizes that it comes at a huge cost: the lives of her sisters.

After her sisters turn to dust, Winifred begs Becca for help. As the new owner of Winifred’s spell book, Becca answers her request and with her friends performs a spell that reunites Winifred with her sisters in the afterlife.

At the end of the film, as Becca and her newly minted coven walk down the street, excited about their new magical abilities, they are chased by a bird that is identical to the bird that Mother Witch (Hannah Waddingham) transformed into at the beginning of the film .

In addition to this moment, the end credits scene hints at the possible return of the Sanderson sisters. Back at Gilbert’s Olde Salem Magic Shoppe, the owner’s black cat Cobweb is seen climbing one of the shelves in the store. As he sits down next to a box, the camera zooms in on the label “BF CANDLE #2,” suggesting that there is another Black Flame candle that could bring the sisters back.

What did the cast say about returning? Hocus Pocus 3?

Before the third film was officially greenlit, the cast had already expressed interest in reprising their iconic roles.

During the Hocus Pocus 2 At the premiere in New York City, Parker announced that she would be signing on for a third Hocus pocus whether Midler would also have joined the project. “Bette is already spreading rumors,” she said Extra in 2022 the sequel. “I hitch my car to her star. If she wants to do a third… Nobody says no to the divine Miss M.”

As for Najimy, she told PEOPLE that she sticks to the mantra of “never say never.”

“It was fun, but it’s not nothing. It’s a lot, but who knows? Who would have thought that almost 30 years later we would be doing this sequel?” She jokingly told PEOPLE, “I think if we were to do it again 30 years later, there would be walkers and canes involved. Flying could be just a small jump of one foot off the ground.”

Since the announcement of Hocus Pocus 3Midler has expressed her desire for the script to be completed much more quickly than the last sequel.

“I think if they want to do it, then they should do it, because time doesn’t just fly by, it races to the finish line,” Midler joked during a July 2024 interview on Busy Philipps’ QVC+ talk show There’s a lot going on this weekper Weekly entertainment. “Get us while we’re still breathing, I mean, God!”

That same month, the divine Miss M shared her ideas for Winifred’s future with PEOPLE.

“Where I want Winifred to go, hmm? Well, I think the Hamptons. Winifred in the Hamptons, I could go there. That would be fun,” she said. “All I can do is figure out places. Paris, London or the Hamptons!”

What did the writers and producers talk about? Hocus Pocus 3?

In 2022, executive producer Adam Shankman praised director Anne Fletcher’s portrayal of Becca’s storyline Hocus Pocus 2. He suggested that the discovery of her magical abilities could be a clue to future projects for the franchise.

“Anne, I think, handled it really beautifully,” Shankman said The Hollywood Reporter of Becca’s fantastic insights. “We thought back and forth about how this would work…whether it would work, forever, and Anne was just like, ‘That’s what we’re going to do.’ And I think it’s great and it’s creating a lot of excitement about possible spin-offs.

D’Angelo told EW in 2023 as she pondered the Sanderson sisters’ next films.

“We’re still in the story phase; “We’re still working on it,” she said. “We’ve been working on some ideas and it’s been fun to dive back into this world and we have so many directions to go and so many new characters to explore.”

Although no final storylines have been finalized yet, D’Angelo teased that the second film “only scratched the surface of Waddingham’s mother witch.”

What would Hocus Pocus 3 be approximately?

Following the release of the sequel, fans were abuzz with theories about what a possible third film might entail. One popular theory is that it may revolve around the newly introduced character Mother Witch, who gave the Sanderson sisters their spell book when they were younger.

Since she appears to be following Becca’s new coven (in bird form) at the end of the film, some think that Mother Witch could become the big villain in a third film – perhaps after Becca’s new coven rises to power and possibly seeks help from the witch Sanderson -Sisters defeat Mother Witch.