Dani Dressed As Mother Witch Thora Birch may not have returned for the sequel, but a piece of the beloved Dani Dennison lived on in Hocus Pocus 2. On Halloween night in 1993, Dani dressed as a witch, a red and black costume with some fiery fur and covered in golden moons.
However, none of the child actors who played the protagonists Max (Omri Katz), Dani (Birch), and Allison (Vinessa Shaw), make an appearance in the sequel. Fletcher told Entertainment Weekly that she found it "very difficult" to bring all the original actors back.
While the Sanderson Sisters are at the heart of Hocus Pocus, the first movie also relied on central characters Max, Dani, and Allison. Unfortunately, the trio did not return in Hocus Pocus 2 after the sequel went in a different direction.
Birch was asked to reprise the role of Dani in grown-up form, but scheduling conflicts prevented the actress from appearing in the Disney+ sequel, EW has confirmed.
In the original Hocus Pocus, Dani dressed up like a witch. And her costume has some callbacks in Hocus Pocus 2. The sequel introduces the Witch Mother in a brick red dress, outfitted with a feathered black cape reminiscent of Dani's vest.
Is the witch in Hocus Pocus 2 supposed to be Dani?
Hocus Pocus 2 originally had Thora Birch's Dani battling Sanderson Sisters with 'arsenal of anti-magic' "I was so invested in trying to get Dani back into the story. We had a bunch of different versions of that," sequel writer Jen D'Angelo tells EW.
What happened to the girl that played Dani in Hocus Pocus?
Thora Birch as Dani
She's the one the Sanderson sisters wanted at the end, and there was no way Max was going to let history repeat itself. Birch continues to work regularly, with two movies recently wrapped up and a bevy of other on her résumé. Her most notable role after Hocus Pocus came in 1999's American Beauty.
The witches come after Dani, Max and Allison in a graveyard. They place Dani in an open grave lined with salt. Dani is captured again, and Winifred tries to kill her because Dani called her ugly. To save Dani, Max drinks a potion and asks the witches to take him in her place.
The original movie actor explained why he and several other stars did not return for Hocus Pocus 2, citing the sequel's need to simply move onto a new story involving the Sanderson Sisters. In Murray's case, Thackery Binx also died at the end of the first movie.
At age 11, Birch appeared in the Halloween-set fantasy film Hocus Pocus (1993), playing Dani Dennison, the younger sister of a teenage boy who inadvertently resurrects a trio of witches.
Of all the “Hocus Pocus” stars, Omri Katz is the only one who largely left Hollywood after starring in the film. Today, he runs a cannabis brand, but has noted that he'd be open to returning for future “Hocus Pocus” projects.
'Hocus Pocus' stars open up about why they aren't in sequel: 'It just didn't work' The Sanderson sisters were brought back to life in “Hocus Pocus 2,” but the children's franchise couldn't strike the right alchemy for some of its original cast members.
From Monkey Trouble (1994) to American Beauty (1999)-- that's Hollywood "Hocus Pocus"! Thora Birch was born on Thursday (as in Thor's Day) March 11, 1982 in Los Angeles.
In the novel Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel, which is set 25 years after the events of the first film, Max and Allison are revealed to have married and had a daughter named Poppy.
Hocus Pocus 2—starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy in reprisals of their original roles, and now, Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, and Belissa Escobedo—picks up three decades after the events of the first film with even more magic—and slightly better CGI.
The film stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and Doug Jones reprising their roles, with Sam Richardson, Whitney Peak, Belissa Escobedo, Tony Hale, and Hannah Waddingham joining the cast in new roles.
Hocus Pocus 2 is a lot of underdeveloped characters, teenage nonsense that is made famous in Zombies and Descendants. The emotional moments and real if character connections of the first one are sort of washed out and drowned by the overdramatized moments that do little for viewers like me.
Max, Dani, and Allison, however, don't have any impact on Hocus Pocus 2. None of the three original characters return for cameos, with director Anne Fletcher citing their absence as due to difficulties in organically integrating them into the story.
Billy greatly despises Winifred, but he did have a relationship with her when he was alive because they shared one kiss. He put up with it until he is fed up with her obsession and fell in love with her youngest sister Sarah.
However they realize they have been tricked and Winifred is upset that her potion is all gone, but there is still enough potion left for one child. Despite Sarah and Mary saying that they have Jay and Ernie and that more children are here, Winifred wants to use the life potion on Dani as revenge for calling her ugly.
Dani was planned to make a return in Hocus Pocus 2 during early development, but Thora Birch's scheduling conflicts with the upcoming Netflix series Wednesday prevented her from reprising the role, and was removed from the finished product.
Leonardo DiCaprio had the chance to play the lead role of Max Dennison in 1993 cult classic fantasy comedy movie Hocus Pocus, but ultimately turned it down.
Disney boss Sean Bailey confirmed that Hocus Pocus 3 was in the works in June 2023, following the long-awaited sequel being a hit on the streaming service. Hocus Pocus 2's director, Anne Fletcher, is returning for the new movie, according to TheWrap.
Technically, a "where are they now?" story on Hocus Pocus character Emily Binx would be rather morbid — even by Halloween standards. She was murdered by a trio of sassy witches in the last 1600s and, you know, has been dead and ghostly ever since.
Though original Hocus Pocus actress Thora Birch didn't reprise her beloved role as Dani in Hocus Pocus 2, the sequel stars who took the reins from the 1993 film's OG roster of teens tell EW what might've happened if a grown-up version of her character appeared in director Anne Fletcher's film as first planned.
