Partner(s) William "Billy" Butcherson is a supporting character in Disney's 1993 film Hocus Pocus and its 2022 sequel, portrayed by actor Doug Jones. He was the obsession of Winifred Sanderson, whom she poisoned after she caught him cheating on her with her youngest sister, Sarah.
Jones, who just reprised his role as Billy in Hocus Pocus 2, reflects on the making of the first film in a new interview with Collider. Looking back on his big moment when Billy is allowed to speak, Jones recalls what the line was originally supposed to be.
In 2014, Aurelio Voltaire released the song "The Devil and Mr. Jones" on his album Raised by Bats which is a tribute to the life and career of Doug Jones. In 2022, Jones reprised his role as Billy Butcherson in Hocus Pocus 2.
It is a sequel to the 1993 film Hocus Pocus and the second installment in the Hocus Pocus franchise. 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.
In the original film, Billy Butcherson was Winifred Sanderson's (Bette Midler) old boyfriend who cheated on her with her youngest sister Sarah. When Winifred found out about Billy's betrayal, she poisoned him and sewed his mouth with a dull needle so that he may never tell her secrets. Billy Butcherson died in 1693.
Everything we know about Hocus Pocus 2: Billy's return, Drag Race queens, 2 musical numbers, Cobweb the cat. Hocus Pocus 2 welcomes back Billy Butcherson, the book, Cobweb the cat, and of course Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy — though Omri Katz and Vinessa Shaw won't return.
But the return of the Sanderson sisters also means the re-emergence of Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones), back out of his grave, still upset that Winifred ever drew him into her drama, and with a new desire to straighten out the rumors that have sullied his name for centuries.
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.
'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.
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.
Thirty years in the making, a magical movie sequel experience has been brought together with the help of returning witches Winifred (Bette Midler), Sara (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary Sanderson (Kathy Najimy) as well as resident zombie Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones).
How do the witches look the same in Hocus Pocus 2?
At first glance, it may appear as if the witches look exactly the same as they did when Hocus Pocus was released in 1993. For the sequel, however, the filmmakers wanted their costumes to look similar to the originals, but not be actual replicas. “We wanted to refresh their looks,” says costume designer Salvador Perez.
Last year, Disney+ brought back the infamous Sanderson sisters to great success with “Hocus Pocus 2,” but the kids who defeated them in the original 1993 cult classic didn't return with them.
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.
Sadly, Thora Birch, who gave us some iconic lines like: "You're the ugliest thing that ever lived and you know it!", didn't reprise her role as Dani Dennison. Although the actress was asked to come back, she had to decline the offer due to scheduling conflicts.
Kenny told Entertainment Weekly: "No, they did not approach me to direct it, which was disappointing, but, of course, in the end, I was very supportive, wanting for Bette, Kathy, and Sarah to have another crack at it. "You let go of things, you surrender, you move on, you don't hold on, you don't have ownership.
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.
'Hocus Pocus 2' proves this Hollywood flop is officially a Halloween cult classic. The original movie was terrible. However, the sequel is brilliant, and a reminder of why Disney has become the biggest success story in entertainment.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly Kathy Najimy explained she switched the side of the smile to the left as it was getting too difficult to do it on the right side. She said: "It's on the other side mainly because it's so hard for me to do it on the side I did it on 30 years ago.
Hocus Pocus 2 gets off to a solid start but finds itself lost amidst the fervor of nostalgia and entirely loses its way, focusing on the Sandersons to the point that it is detrimental to the story this film is telling. To see the sequel fail to live up to expectations, Hocus Pocus 2 is now streaming on Disney+.
Billy's mouth was sewn shut so that he couldn't speak the truth about what actually happened between him and Winifred, which turned out to be only a kiss. In the sequel film, he was finally able to spread his truth that he was the eldest Sanderson sister's lover, potentially allowing his soul to finally rest.
October 31, 1993, Billy was brought back to life by Winifred as a zombie and sent after Thackery Binx, Max Dennison, Dani Dennison and Allison Watts. However, when Billy managed to catch them, he revealed that he was not an ally of Winifred and, in fact, despised her.
Binx doesn't return for the sequel because it doesn't make sense for his character to return after the first film's events, and it doesn't fit the Hocus Pocus 2 storyline. The nod to Binx with Cobweb is a nice one, but nothing more should be read into it.
