Practical Magic 2: Everything we know about Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock sequel

Something wicked this way comes.

The Practical Magic sequel is shaping up nicely with confirmation Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest will be joining Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman in the cast.

Channing and Wiest, if you remember, played aunts to Bullock and Kidman’s characters in the original 1998 film, and taught their nieces everything there was to know about magic.

The romantic drama starred Bullock and Kidman as Sally and Gillian Owens, two sisters who are descended from a line of witches who have been viewed with suspicion by the people in their Massachusetts town for generations.

There is also a family curse that dictates any man who falls in love with an Owens woman is doomed. Sally’s husband was hit by a truck, which is when she goes to live with her aunts. Gillian is the wild sister with a string of flings, including with Jimmy, an abusive serial killer.

The Owens women ultimately call on the town’s women to form a coven to drive Jimmy’s spirit away. Sally also embraced her witchy heritage.

Despite not making its production budget back during its original cinema run, the film has become a favourite on home entertainment. Almost three decades on, it’s still beloved and eminently rewatchable.

Faith Hill’s number one hit, This Kiss, was also on the soundtrack and closely associated with the film.

When the sequel was announced, Bullock and Kidman voiced a promotional video that was written as an incantation, “Tooth of wolf and morning dew, something old and something new, let the spell begin to mix, September 18, 2026”.

Also joining the cast are The Dark Knight Returns’ Joey King, Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams, Halt and Catch Fire’s Lee Pace, Cobra Kai’s Xolo Mariduena and Tom Jones’ Solly McLeod.

Someone who’s not returning is Evan Rachel Wood, who confirmed on the weekend she won’t be part of the sequel. She wrote, “I offered my services, even if it was one scene or one line. I was told they are recasting. I am sorry to disappoint the fans. It was not in my control or my choice. I would have happily rejoined my sisters.”

It’s not clear if King or Williams have been recast as Sally’s daughters, who were primary school-aged in the first film.

King wasn’t born at the time of the first film’s release while Williams was one – if they are slated to play Sally’s daughters, that suggests the story is not set 28 years after the original timeline, or, you know, (Hollywood) magic.

There’s also no sign yet of Aidan Quinn, who played Gary, an investigator that Sally ends up with at the end of original film. The previous cast also included Goran Visnjic, Margo Martindale and Camilla Belle.

The 1998 movie was directed by Griffin Dunne but Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier will take over on the sequel. Bullock worked with Bier on Bird Box and Kidman has as well, on miniseries The Undoing and The Perfect Couple.

The film was based on Alice Hoffman’s 1995 novel, and she later wrote a sequel, The Book of Magic, in 2021. The screenplay for Practical Magic 2 is being written by Akiva Goldsman, who worked on the first movie, and Georgia Pritchett.