Omri Katz -- who starred as Max Dennison in the original Hocus Pocus -- has addressed his noticeable absence from the upcoming sequel. Hocus Pocus 2.
Katz recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly regarding Hocus Pocus' upcoming sequel, which Disney officially announced in December 2020. "People have been asking, and unfortunately, I'm not in it," Katz said. "I would have loved to be involved." After Hocus Pocus, Katz briefly starred in shows like General Hospital and Freaks and Geeks, but the now 46-year-old decided to retire from acting in 2002. Despite not returning, Katz is hopeful that director Anne Fletcher will do the sequel justice.
"I think it'll be good for everyone who loved the original!" he said. "I hope fans will go see it. I know I will." It's been almost 30 years since Katz played Max, a teenager who received a culture shock due to his move from Los Angeles to Salem, Massachusetts. Much to Max's reluctance, he takes his younger sister Dani trick-or-treating, but they face no ordinary problems along the way on an eventful Halloween night. Three witches named Winifred, Sarah and Mary return 300 years after their execution, and are hungry for the souls of children. The wicked trio consists of Bette Midler as Winifred, Sarah Jessica Parker as Sarah and Kathy Najimy as Mary.
All three actors will reprise their roles as the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus 2. Apart from the three witches, however, the only actor from the original film set to return for the sequel is Pan's Labyrinth star Doug Jones. Jones plays Billy Butcherson, Winfred's zombie ex-boyfriend, and the one with the moths in his mouth (which are actually real).
Hocus Pocus 2 will transport the setting to a modern-day Salem with a fresh trio of teenagers -- Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo and Lilia Buckingham. Other members of the cast include Sam Richardson, Tony Hale, Hannah Waddingham and RuPaul's Drag Race queens Kahmora Hall, Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté and Ginger Minj. Considering the integration of a new story and characters, Fletcher found it hard to incorporate original cast members.
"People would say, 'They could be in the background!' And I'm like, really?," Fletcher said. "You're going to put the leads of the first movie in the background and be satisfied? You're not going to be satisfied, you're going to be angry." While Jason Marsden won't lend his voice to the cat-form of Thackery Binx again, Fletcher reassures fans the iconic feline will appear in the sequel in some other form.
Hocus Pocus 2 premieres on Disney+ on Sept. 30.
Source: Entertainment Weekly