“Hocus Pocus” Star Reveals Why Original Characters Weren’t In The Sequel

Many “Hocus Pocus“ cast members reunited at the second annual 90s Con and according to Thora Birch, shared “concepts” and “ideas“. However, Omri Katz clarified that they “weren’t invited” to participate in the sequel planning, even though they were all interested to return for another round of witching hour.

“Hocus Pocus” – Star Says There Were Plans To Bring The Movie’s Original Cast Back But It Did Didn’t Work Out

At this year’s 90s themed Convention, the original “Hocus Pocus” stars Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, Jason Marsden and Omri Katz reunited for a panel conversation about the popular 1993 Disney movie, moderated by PEOPLE’s Michael Gioia.

During the panel, a fan inquired why they weren’t involved in the sequel to the original film, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary this coming July.

“We weren’t invited to that meeting. So we don’t really know why we weren’t invited,” Katz, 46, said. “I think the fan base really wanted to see something with us. … Yeah, I don’t know. It’s hard to really figure out the decisions that are made regarding what they want to do.”

The reason for this, Birch added, was that “the process in No. 2 being brought about was so long,” even though their return “was something that was discussed.”

She explained, “The desire [and] the concept of maybe doing [a sequel] was about 10 years. But then there were numbers of different writers that came on board and different directors, and so the story and the concept and the direction in which they wanted to take, too, kept evolving and changing and growing.”

“I do know that there were, along the way, some concepts and some ideas about ways to bring us back. And for whatever reason, it just didn’t work,” she continued. “Some of us were going to be on, some of us weren’t. And then it just was such a roller coaster ride.”

Birch added: “What we like to say in the business: we had scheduling conflicts.”

Marsden, 48, then said that even though there were plans to bring their characters back, he’s “been in this business long enough to not get your hopes up about anything, really.”

“I did speak with Mr. David Kirschner, [who created and produced the film]. He said he did try to fight to get you three especially,” he continued. “But there’s a committee. It’s a team. It’s an IP now — intellectual property. It’s close to your hearts, but it belongs to a committee now. And so it’s left up to them to make the right decisions.”

Other “Hocus Pocus” stars include Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Doug Jones, Larry Bagby, Kathy Najimy and Tobias Jelinek, who weren’t present at the Saturday event in Connecticut.

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After decades of wait from fans, the hit Halloween movie finally got its sequel. The plot sees Najimy, 66, Midler, 77, and Parker, 57, reprise their characters awakened decades after their defeat in the original movie and seek revenge in modern-day Salem, Massachusetts.

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