New Hocus Pocus 2 footage seemingly reveals that Sam Richardson's new character, Gilbert, practices magic. The highly-anticipated sequel follows Disney's 1993 Halloween cult classic Hocus Pocus, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy. The iconic trio conjured up magic as the Sanderson sisters, a coven of witches hellbent on staying young forever. Nearly three decades later, Disney green-lit a sequel to the family flick, featuring the return of all three original stars.
Hocus Pocus 2 filmed across Rhode Island in the fall of 2021 with director Anne Fletcher (The Proposal) at the helm. Picking up 29 years after its predecessor, the story sees Salem high school students Becca (Whitney Peak), Cassie (Lilia Buckingham), and Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) learn of a tradition by which witches receive their magical abilities on their 16th birthday. Mayhem ensues when they light the Black Flame Candle and inadvertently awaken the Sanderson Sisters. The sequel also welcomes stars like Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham and Richardson into the fold. Audiences got a first look at Richardson's mysterious Gilbert, a magic shop owner, in the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer, but most details about his character are still unknown.
New footage shared by popular Instagram fan Hocus Pocus Guide confirmed that Richardson's Gilbert dabbles in candle magic. Showing a closeup of the candle that Becca and Izzy use to conjure Winnie, Sarah and Mary Sanderson in the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer, Gilbert reveals that he charged it with "a very powerful magic." Check out the new video, which promotes a Hocus Pocus 2 candle line, below:
In addition to Izzy and Becca bringing back the Sanderson sisters in the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer, this reveal marks the third new character to practice magic in the Disney sequel. Given this, Gilbert's powers position at least three protagonists who can use magic against the powerful witches. This development is already a stark difference from the original film, where the main trio of Max, Allison and Dani don't have any magical abilities to combat the villains in their arsenal. Of course, it's unknown if Gilbert actually possesses magic or merely thinks he does.
Having magical protagonists to battle the vengeful Sanderson sisters is a game changer for the Hocus Pocus universe. It was easy to relate to the characters in the first film, who bumbled along trying to stop the witches with their mere mortal skills and a talking cat, Binx. If the three Salem high students in Hocus Pocus 2 are able to harness (or at least understand) magic, it will up the stakes of their bout with the Sandersons, but could run the risk of them losing the underdog status. All will be revealed when Hocus Pocus 2 hits Disney+ on September 30.
Source: Hocus Pocus Guide
