It's officially Hocus Pocus 2 week as the highly anticipated sequel will herald the return of the Sanderson Sisters on Disney+. As we previously learned, however, one of the original cast members that won't be joining the second installment is Thora Birch who played the incredibly brave eight-year-old Dani Dennison who found herself a target of the child-consuming witches alongside her brother Max (Omri Katz) and his girlfriend Allison (Vinessa Shaw). Thanks to scheduling conflicts, the actress and director wasn't able to make it back to Salem, Massachusetts this time around, though she expressed how much she wished she could've been there in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight.
While on the set of her new directorial effort The Gabby Petito Story, Birch opened up about her inability to join the sequel film and gave her best wishes to everyone involved. "I was just a little dismayed I wasn’t able to make it," she told ET. "I was working on something else when they were filming, otherwise I was definitely going to be there on set with the girls. I can’t wait to see what they do with it. I know they’re taking a completely different, fresh approach, so I’m excited." Neither of her young co-stars at the time, Katz and Shaw, will be there for the film either.
Originally, Birch was meant to have a larger role in the film. When Disney approached the actress for the film, the goal was to have her reappear as an adult version of Dani who helps a new generation of high schoolers fight the Sanderson sisters using the knowledge she gained from her first encounter. Instead, the sequel will follow a similar plot as an homage to the original, but with enough twists and turns to make it stand out as its own film set 29 years after the original.
Although the young stars aren't returning, there'll still be plenty of familiarity in the cast with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reprising their role as the Sanderson Sisters while Doug Jones will return as Billy Butcherson. Joining the legacy cast members are Belissa Escobedo, Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham as the latest batch of unfortunate souls who summon the witches alongside Sam Richardson, Hannah Waddingham, and Tony Hale. Director Anne Fletcher and writer Jean D'Angelo teamed up to make this return to Salem special and so far, reactions are positive with critics praising it as a worthy successor on par with the first film.
Even though playing Dani again wasn't in the cards, Birch is still excited to celebrate 30 years of the film with the rest of the cast. She told ET, "I’m still recovering from the 20-year anniversary of Hocus Pocus. I’m sure that this one will be even more extra."
Hocus Pocus 2 takes viewers back to Salem on September 30. Check out the trailer below.