The Sanderson Sisters will return this Halloween. (Disney)
A Hocus Pocus reunion featuring the original Sanderson sisters – Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy – is coming later this month.
Halloween 2020 was set to be a miserable affair (wearing a slutty costume for Zoom just doesn’t quite carry the same thrill) – but now, there’s a Hocus Pocus reunion to look forward to.
Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy have confirmed they’ll be reprising their iconic roles for a good cause.
“Your three fav witches… are returning for one night only,” Midler wrote on Instagram, sharing a picture of the trio in full regalia on a blue screen set.
“The candle was lit for the best possible reason,” Parker added.
The Hocus Pocus reunion, “In Sarah of the Sanderson Sisters”, will raise funds for Midler’s New York Restoration Project, which is dedicated to “transforming open space in under-resourced communities to create a greener, more sustainable New York City”.
It will also feature appearances from Meryl Streep, Jennifer Hudson, Billy Crystal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kenan Thompson, John Stamos, Glenn Close, George Lopez, Martin Short, Adam Lambert, Michael Kors, Todrick Hall and more.
The special comes after Midler teased her involvement in the long-awaited Hocus Pocus sequel, which has been confirmed for Disney Plus.
The actor told Entertainment Tonight in September that discussions for her return were underway, adding: “I can’t wait to fly.”
Midler has long held a place in the hearts of the queer community, having began her career performing in a gay bathhouse, and giving birth to camp classics such as Hocus Pocus and The First Wives Club.
But in recent years her reputation has lost its sheen thanks to a series of problematic incidents.
In August 2016 she was criticised for deadnaming and misgendering Caitlyn Jenner after her docs-series I Am Cait was cancelled.
“Now that @IAmCait has been cancelled will she go back to being [deadname]?” She wrote. “Will Kris take [incorrect pronoun] back? Do I smell a rewedding?”
She later apologised for offending, and called her words “an idle musing”.
In October 2018 the actor was accused of racism after tweeting: “Women are the N-word of the world.”
Subsequently she deleted the tweet and explained that she was paraphrasing a song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.