“Sisssstaaaahs… prepare thyselves. ‘Tis time.” With that caption — and a shadowy production still of three silhouetted witches framed by heavy iron doors — Bette Midler sent Halloween fans into a frenzy earlier this month. Hocus Pocus 3 is officially in production at Disney Live Action Studios, the Sanderson Sisters are all back, and the most wonderful time of the year just got a whole lot more magical.
The sisters are summoned
Midler, who plays Winifred Sanderson, shared the production still on her Instagram around October 2, 2026 — the first tangible evidence that cameras are rolling (or about to) on the third chapter. The image shows the sisters in smoky silhouette, and it does exactly what a first look should: it tells you nothing and everything at once. The witches are back. Salem awaits. That’s all you need.
The casting was locked in by Deadline back in May 2026: all three Sanderson Sisters are returning. Bette Midler as Winifred, Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah, Kathy Najimy as Mary — the trio that made the 1993 original a perennial Halloween staple and carried the 2022 sequel to massive Disney+ numbers. There is no Hocus Pocus without all three of them, and Disney clearly knows it.
A long road back to Salem
This film has been a slow-burning spell. Disney first greenlit Hocus Pocus 3 back in June 2023, but things stayed quiet until October 2025, when Midler revealed she’d seen a script she called “brilliant.” Then came Deadline’s May 2026 report that the film was officially in early development at Disney Live Action Studios — and now Midler’s Instagram has all but confirmed that development has become production.
The patience makes sense. The Hocus Pocus franchise is one of the strangest success stories in Disney history: a 1993 theatrical release that underperformed, resurrected by three decades of cable reruns and Halloween marathons into a genuine cultural institution. The 2022 sequel proved the audience was real and ravenous — it premiered to one of the biggest Disney+ debuts of that year and spent weeks in the streamer’s top ten, confirming that Halloween nostalgia is a renewable resource. You don’t rush the third one. You get it right.
What we know (and what we don’t)
Plot details: none. Zero. The production still is the entire marketing campaign so far, and honestly, it’s working. What we know is the who — the sisters, all three — and the where — Disney Live Action Studios. The when is still unannounced, but a Halloween-adjacent release would be the most predictable scheduling decision in Hollywood history, and sometimes predictable is perfect.
What the film needs to deliver is the same alchemy as the first two: the sisters’ gloriously unhinged chemistry, a Salem that feels lived-in and a little bit haunted, and at least one musical number that will live in Halloween playlists forever. Midler calling the script “brilliant” is the best early indicator we could ask for — she’s never been shy about her standards.
Why Halloween belongs to them
October is the Sanderson Sisters’ month and everyone else is just visiting. The original film’s journey from box-office disappointment to Halloween canon is the ultimate word-of-mouth fairy tale — the kind of thing that happens when a movie is simply too fun to stay buried. Kids who watched it on the Disney Channel in the ’90s are now parents showing it to their own kids, which is exactly the multi-generational engine Disney builds franchises on.
And this season is stacked for spectacle lovers — theme parks are planning their biggest holiday season yet, and the holiday showcases are already ramping up. But for pure witchy joy, nothing touches the sisters.
The spell so far
Every great franchise third act needs a reason to exist beyond the box office, and Hocus Pocus 3 has one built in: the story of three witches who keep getting summoned back by the people who love them is, itself, the story of this franchise. The fans lit the black flame candle. The sisters came running. Twice now.
Midler’s caption said it best: ’tis time. Whatever the Sanderson Sisters have planned for their third outing, three decades of Halloween devotion say it’s worth the wait. We’ll be watching the skies over Salem — and Disney’s release calendar — for the date. Amok, amok, amok.
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