Thora Birch Won’t Reprise Her Role In The “Hocus Pocus” Sequel, But Ginger Minj Will Appear
Almost thirty years ago (heh?!) a then-10-year-old Thora Birch starred in Hocus Pocus. She played Dani, the cute kid who’s being chased by the Sanderson Sisters, three evil witches who wanna suck out Dani’s soul so they can be young and hot forever (an excruciating process called “Madonna-ing”).
Filming for the sequel began in October 2021, and it’s set to premiere on Disney+ this fall. Since Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy all signed on to reprise their roles, some Hocus Pocus fans hoped that Thora would return as well. Now a source has informed Entertainment Weekly that while Disney offered Thora, now 40, “a good supporting role” as an adult version of Dani, she couldn’t make the scheduling work.
The insider claims that Thora was too busy filming Netflix’s upcoming Addams Family-inspired TV show, Wednesday to film the Hocus Pocus sequel. Wednesday follows Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) as a teen at boarding school. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán play Morticia and Gomez. Thora scored a series regular role Tamara Novak, Wednesday’s dorm mother. Except… twist! In December Deadline reported that Thora had left the series, which shoots in Romania, and returned to the U.S. “due to a personal matter.” A rep for the series that Thora filmed most of her scenes, but she wouldn’t be returning to production. Word is she’s dealing with a family illness.
Entertainment Weekly’s source adds that, had Thora been able to film Hocus Pocus, adult Dani would’ve helped three modern-day teens stop the Sanderson sisters. Doug Jones will reprise his role as Billy Butcherson, the resurrected zombie, and Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, Hannah Waddingham will also star.
In other Hocus Pocus casting news, sources tell Entertainment Weekly that RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Ginger Minj filmed an appearance as a drag version of Bette Midler’s character (see: this shitty behind-the-scenes fan footage), via ET:
Sources close to the production confirmed to EW that the All Stars 6 finalist filmed a scene for the Disney+ sequel in Rhode Island in November 2021 that sees three queens portraying impersonations of the Sanderson Sisters at a drag show — including Ginger as Bette Midler’s Winifred Sanderson. Later, the real Sanderson Sisters (Midler’s Winifred, Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah, and Kathy Najimy as Mary) show up to the performance, and spectacular things ensue.
Ginger has dressed up as Bette’s character for multiple Halloweens, so the casting makes perfect sense:
A reminder that this shit is on Disney+, so filmmakers will be forced to make it clear that Ginger Minj’s character is 1000% heterosexual! “Just a little drag fun for Halloween! Now lemme rip off these fake titties and jack it to some pictures of vaginas.”
Pics: Instagram/INSTAR