'Hocus Pocus 2': Bette Midler Says It Was a 'Real Thrill' Reuniting for Sequel (Exclusive)

The long-awaited sequel is on Disney+ Sept.30.

The Sanderson sisters are flying back onto screens after nearly 30 years -- but when it came to making Hocus Pocus 2Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker felt like no time had passed at all!

"As soon as we walked on the set, the dynamic between the three of us was exactly the same as it was 30 years ago," Midler says in ET's exclusive look at a featurette for the upcoming film. "It was like these characters lived with us for the last 30 years... It was a real thrill."

"It was not a difficult transition to step back into those boots," Najimy agrees. 

Set 29 years after the events of the first film, Hocus Pocus 2 will give fans a look at the backstory of the trio's Sanderson sisters -- which includes an ominous birthday present from an elder witch, played by Ted Lasso Emmy winner Hannah Waddingham.

"It's very special to be a part of something that has become so meaningful in people's lives," Parker notes of returning to the cinematic universe.

The sequel also sees the 17th-century sisters resurrected in the present day after high school friends in Salem -- played by Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham and Belissa Escobedo -- relight the Black Flame Candle and spark a whole new adventure. 

The Hocus Pocus 2 cast also includes Sam Richardson, Tony Hale, Juju Brener, Froy Gutierrez, Taylor Paige Henderson and Nina Kitchen.

ET spoke to Richardson at the Independent Spirit Awards in March, where he gushed over the "surreal experience" of joining some of the original cast for the film's second installment.

"It was incredible. All the ladies are back for Hocus Pocus 2," the actor teased. "They truly haven't missed a step. And it was so incredible to be in the movie and watch them putting the old hats back on and being those old characters, the sisters. It was so much fun."

A self-proclaimed true fan of the original, Richardson said he "grew up watching [Hocus Pocus]."

"I'm a true fan of that movie," the Ted Lasso star gushed. "Being in it, now being a part of that movie, [is] another one of those surreal moments."

Hocus Pocus 2 flies onto Disney+ Sept. 30.  

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