Are you ready to get dragged into the phenomenon that is Hocus Pocus 2? You better be, because the black flame candle has been lit once again and the Sanderson Sisters are back to the suck the life out of the children of Salem. Salem is a very different place than it was three decades ago, and the Sanderson Sisters are just as famous as the queens of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
For those who’ve slept through the past decade, RuPaul’s Drag Race is an Emmy Award-winning reality competition where drag queens compete in dozens of challenges to impress RuPaul and win the title of America’s next drag superstar. The show has become one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons of the last decade. Drag queens, like the Sanderson Sisters, have officially run amok! And now they’ve put a spell on mainstream media.
With 14 seasons and just as many spin-offs to choose from, three RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni were chosen to play the drag versions of Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Mary (Kathy Najimy) in the Disney Plus movie. All three are from different seasons, have three very different styles of drag, and when you line them up next to each other could give Winifred, Sarah, and Mary a run for their money.
Which RuPaul’s Drag Race queens appear as the Sanderson Sisters in Hocus Pocus 2?
The world has drastically changed since the Sanderson Sisters last put a spell on the people of Salem. For starters, Winifred, Sarah, and Mary are now famous, and in many ways are to Salem as black cats are to Halloween.
In the movie Ginger Minj plays the drag version of Winifred Sanderson. The drag versions of her sisters, Sarah and Mary, are played by Kahmora Hall and Kornbread “The Snack” Jeté from seasons 13 and 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Every year, Salem hosts its annual Sanderson Sisters costume contest at the annual Salem Scare Fest. Ginger Minj from season seven of RuPaul’s Drag Race and season two and six of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars told Entertainment Weekly that there’s no one better to dress up as the iconic sistah witches than drag queens. “Everybody who’s ever been anywhere in the world where there’s a Sanderson Sister impersonator, knows that drag queens tend to do it frequently, and they tend to do it best.”
Recounting the process of getting casted, Ginger Minj told Entertainment Weekly that the movie’s director Anne Fletcher personally reached out to her asking if she’d like to be in Hocus Pocus 2. Immediately accepting, Fletcher then entrusted Minj to compile a list of drag queens to play her on-screen sisters.
However, Kornbread revealed that her role as the drag version of Mary almost went to another queen. “It was supposed to be Jaida Essence Hall,” she said, referring to the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 12.
At the time of filming, Kornbread wasn’t yet a queen of RuPaul’s Drag Race and had to keep her upcoming reveal on the reality show a secret, likely due to contractual obligations. “When photos leaked [from set, fans knew] who these two were, but I was definitely Silky for a second, Jaidynn Diore Fierce for a second, because no one knew who Kornbread was at the time, so I kind of lucked out in the moment,” she said.
Kahmora Hall — the drag sister of Jaida Essence Hall — thought she got the wrong email. “I was so surprised by it. I had to Google the person emailing me to make sure it was legit,” she said. “Ironically, the same dates they were filming, I had a trip to Disney World planned, and I was like, ‘Is there any way we can move the dates, or any flexibility?’ and they’re like, girl, you’re not Bette Midler, we’re not changing the dates for you. So I was like, let me reschedule my vacation, no problem.”
Hocus Pocus 2, like its predecessor, will bring several musical numbers to life. Which one Ginger Minj, Kahmora Hall, and Kornbread appear in will be revealed when Hocus Pocus 2 hits Disney Plus on Sept. 30.