Hocus Pocus 3 is going ahead : Release updates

It's confirmed. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy are coming back. According to Deadline, Hocus Pocus 3 is officially moving forward, with the iconic trio reprising their roles as the Sanderson Sisters. For anyone who has been tracking this project since the early announcements, this is the news that finally makes it real.

From rumours to reality : the long road to Hocus Pocus 3

The original Hocus Pocus hit theatres back in 1993. The premise was delightfully absurd : three eccentric witches from 17th-century Salem get accidentally resurrected by a group of unsuspecting teenagers during Halloween night. What followed was a chaotic, comedic race against time, with the Sanderson Sisters desperate to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth — while being outwitted by kids and a talking cat. The film became a cult classic, the kind that gets rewatched every October without fail.

Decades later, Disney brought the witches back with Hocus Pocus 2, released directly on Disney+ in September 2022. The sequel broke viewership records for the platform in its opening weekend, proving the franchise still had serious commercial appeal. That performance sparked immediate conversation about a third instalment — and the lead actresses were vocal about their interest in returning.

Disney officially announced Hocus Pocus 3 in 2023, but the project stalled. For the better part of two years, it sat in development limbo, with no confirmed cast, no director attached publicly, and no release date on the horizon. Midler, Parker and Najimy kept mentioning it in interviews — enthusiastically, but without concrete updates. Now, that waiting period is apparently over.

What we know about the confirmed cast and release plans

The casting confirmation is the biggest piece of news here. All three original Sanderson Sisters are back — which was never guaranteed, given the scheduling complexity of reuniting actors of this calibre. Beyond that, details remain scarce. No director has been officially named, no plot synopsis has leaked, and no co-stars have been announced alongside the trio.

What we do know is the distribution strategy, and it marks a clear shift from the sequel. Here's how the three films compare on that front :

That theatrical bet is significant. Disney appears to be treating this third entry as a proper cinema event rather than a streaming premiere. Both the original and Hocus Pocus 2 are currently available to watch on Disney+, so fans can easily revisit the full story while waiting for the next chapter — which is exactly the kind of context we track closely when following a franchise's streaming availability.

Regarding the release window, no official date has been set. Logistically, a Halloween 2027 theatrical debut seems the most plausible target, assuming production begins in the coming months. That would give the filmmakers roughly 18 months to shoot and post-produce — tight, but workable for a project of this scale.

Reading between the lines : what this third film really means for the franchise

There's a practical reality worth acknowledging here. Bette Midler turned 80 in December 2025. That's not a reason to be pessimistic — she remains one of the most energetic performers in Hollywood — but it does add a certain urgency to the timeline. If this production delays further, the window narrows. It's reasonable to read this third film as a likely send-off for the current iteration of the franchise, rather than the opening of a new chapter.

That framing actually makes it more compelling. A concluding chapter for the Sanderson Sisters, given a proper theatrical send-off after the streaming-only sequel, feels like the right shape for a trilogy. Disney is clearly aware of the franchise's value — the records Hocus Pocus 2 set on Disney+ didn't happen by accident.

There are a few things fans are already speculating about :

• Whether the film will bring back any characters from the sequel
• The tone — darker, funnier, or a blend of both ?
• How the Sanderson Sisters' return will be explained within the story
• Whether a new generation of young leads will anchor the plot

On a broader note, Disney is not slowing down its exploration of witchcraft-adjacent animated storytelling either. The studio recently confirmed that Hexed, its upcoming animated feature, will be showcased at the Annecy International Film Festival — suggesting a genuine appetite for this genre across multiple formats.

For those keeping an eye on where and when Hocus Pocus 3 will land — whether that's a cinema near you or eventually a streaming platform — the next few months of production news will be decisive. The announcement is made. Now it's a waiting game, and we'll be monitoring every update as it drops.