“Hocus Pocus ”series writer reveals where she thinks Max and Allison characters are today
Original Hocus Pocus stars Omri Katz and Vinessa Shaw weren't in Hocus Pocus 2, but screenwriter Jen D'Angelo is confident their characters are living happy lives free from the grasp of the Sanderson Sisters.
The sequel scribe — who's currently refining story ideas for Disney's Hocus Pocus 3 — tells EW she has a solid idea of where Max (Katz) and Allison (Shaw) are today, even though her streaming sequel didn't include them in a significant capacity outside a brief flashback scene that saw body doubles stand in for the beloved characters.
"My unofficial belief is that Max has a successful band, he's the drummer, they're touring," D'Angelo says, adding that he eventually ended up with Allison after they bonded while doing battle with the resurrected Sanderson Sisters witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy) on Halloween night in 1993.
Everett Collection Allison (Vinessa Shaw) and Max (Omri Katz) in 'Hocus Pocus'
"He and Allison live and California, they have an amazing life," D'Angelo continues. "She works at a museum, she's a curator!"
D'Angelo's observation falls in line with Allison's backstory, after she first told Max and his younger sister, Dani (Thora Birch, whom EW also exclusively confirmed wouldn't return for last year's sequel), that her mother ran the old Sanderson Sisters museum in Salem at the top of the Kenny Ortega film.
Though Katz, Shaw, and Birch did not reprise their roles in Hocus Pocus 2, D'Angelo also says that she wrote cameos for several OG characters that didn't make the final cut — and she even expanded heavily on Birch's Dani, though the actress' involvement didn't pan out.
Katz, however, exclusively told EW earlier this year that he'd be down to return for the upcoming third film in the franchise.
Disney+ Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Larry Bagby, and Tobias Jelinek in 'Hocus Pocus'
"It would be an honor to return, hopefully with some of my fellow castmates, and make a fun addition to the franchise!" Katz said via email.
Many fans were disappointed that Katz, Shaw, Birch, and other original characters (namely bullies Jay and Ice, portrayed by Tobias Jelinek and Larry Bagby) didn't appear in the sequel, and D'Angelo says she's keeping that in mind while drafting the third movie.
"We're still in the story phase, we're still working on it. We've been working on some ideas, and it's been fun to dive back into that world and we have so many directions in which to go and so many new characters to explore. We've only scratched the surface of Hannah Waddingham's mother witch," she tells EW, adding that "anything's on the table" for Hocus Pocus 3 — including her desire to see the witches return "as adults."
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