‘Hocus Pocus 2’ will reveal the bewitching origins of the Sanderson sisters

It’s time to put up your best spooky decor and grab your Halloween-themed wineglasses, because Hocus Pocus 2 is giving viewers a look at the lore of everyone’s favorite witchy sisters, the Sandersons. 

Winifred, Mary, and Sarah have been part of the story of Halloween for almost 30 years, and Hocus Pocus 2 gives audiences insight into what took the Sandersons from children to infamous witches. In fact, the movie kicks off in the 1600s, and with a little bit of romance. 

In a chat with EW, director Anne Fletcher shared more about the upcoming delightfully frightful film and how the characters will be spooky but relatable. 

“The opening sequence of the movie, we get some history of our witches and Billy. We get a little kiss — pardon the pun — of the Billy aspect of it and the world that they lived in and what happened to the witches. I always missed that in the first one. Like, what are the witches the way they are? I did have that question, and the script came, and I loved the opening 1600s. I pushed that a little bit more, because I really wanted to point at, ever so slightly…. the idea that the 1600s and the now are the same. There’s no difference. I just want to poke at the irony of it. But, in the joy of the film you get to see the young version of them and have a great time and understand the what and why of what happened to them.”

Understanding what makes the Sanderson sisters the way they are is one exciting piece of the puzzle that Hocus Pocus 2 will deliver, in addition to several blink-and-you’ll-miss-it pieces that connect the new characters to our favorite spooky sisters.

Fletcher continues by pointing out one thing fans can look for in the new movie, and we’ll undoubtedly be looking for more clues as the story unfolds.

“We give each girl not only the same color in the vein of our witches — Becca Peak being Winnie, Izzy Escobedo being Mary, and Cassie Buckinham being Sarah — but their hairstyles in a way are similar. It’s a modern-day twist on it. It’s the intention of playing into that. At the end of the day, the movie is about sisterhood, it’s about sticking together through thick and thin, and being there for one another.”

While the witches are not afraid to wreak havoc and stir up some trouble — some pun intended — their bond with one another is the central heartbeat of the story. They’re witchy, and they’ve got evil in their veins, but Winifred, Sarah, and Mary are family, they’re sisters, proving love can out-spook even the most spine-tingling, spell-bounding terror.

Hocus Pocus 2 flies onto Disney Plus on Sept. 30.