Three is the magic number, and for the film Practical Magic, three decades appears to be the sweet spot, with it announced that a sequel is in the works.
Fans of the much-loved 1998 Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman flick are rejoicing. Twenty-eight years ago, they were lured into the cinema during Halloween to watch Practical Magic, and now the story will continue.
As a staple spooky film on viewers’ schedules when a full moon is out, lovers of the enchanted film will now discover what happened to the Owens sisters after Warner Bros, the production house that released the first instalment, shared that the stars, both figuratively and literally, have aligned to allow the follow-up to happen.
Featuring a then 31-year-old Kidman as Gillian Owens and a 34-year-old Bullock as her on-screen sister Sally, Practical Magic saw the siblings put their bond to the test and take on an ancient curse that had plagued their family for hundreds of years.
In 1998, Kidman was still married to Tom Cruise and appeared in movies such as To Die For, Far and Away, and Batman Forever. Bullock had also racked up an impressive CV of films such as Speed 1 and 2 and The Net. It had all the makings for a cult classic, and the cauldron was just right, with fans demanding a sequel for years.
It’s safe to say that, Kidman and Bullock are leading ladies firmly solidified in the Hollywood landscape, but in 1998, the pair had no idea how their careers would go—and now, as busy A-listers, will they even have time in their busy schedules to film the sequel?
Soundsphere has you covered.
What is Practical Magic about?
If it’s been a while since you saw the film or have yet to see it, the story revolves around sisters Sally (Bullock) and Gillian (Kidman) and their magical family. They face many upheavals, with the local community failing to accept them, and they are never far from heartbreak, tragedy, and loss.
Due to their ancestor Maria Owens (Caprice Benedetti) cursing the family, the Owens have been blamed for almost everything that could and has gone wrong in the Massachusetts town where they live for as long as town gossip and whispers have existed.
Hundreds of years ago, Maria thought she had found love and fell pregnant, only to be left by her beloved. She vowed never to suffer the heartbreak of love again; hell, hath no fury like a woman scorned.
Only the spell had a more significant impact, and it meant that all future female Owens family members who found love would lose their male partners tragically. This fate befell Sally and Gillian’s mother, who died of a broken heart after their father passed, which resulted in the sisters being shipped off to live with their aunts.
Living with magical aunts sounds a little like Sabrina and the Teenage Witch, but much like having Hilda and Zelda Spellman, Sally and Gillian were loved by their aunts and taught the ways of magic. The aunts come in the form of Stockard Channing as Aunt Frances and Dianne Wiest as Aunt Jet in Practical Magic.
Not only battling the curse and how that may curate their lives, Gillian falls for bad boy Jimmy Angelov, played by Goran Visnjic. In the movie he torments the sisters and family, resulting in his death and the havoc he causes beyond the grave. It should also be noted that Sally was married and had two kids with her husband Michael (Mark Feuerstein), who, you guessed it, dies tragically early in the film.
Obviously, much more goes on, but that is Practical Magic in a nutshell.
Practical Magic’s origin story
Based on author Allison Hoffman’s 1995 novel of the same name, Practical Magic is part of a four-book saga. With the sequel around the corner, many are asking if the books will be involved.
Hoffman’s website states that if you want to read them in the order they were written, you should read them – Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, The Book of Magic. Magic Lessons is cited as a prequel to Practical Magic, and Hoffman offers another order if you want to read them chronologically.
The film has an impressive Audience Score of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.3 out of 10 on IMDb, and 3.5 out of 5 on Letterboxd.
Now that you are all caught up let’s discuss who will be in the sequel and when it will air.
When is the sequel coming out?
It only took 11 words from Warner Bros. to whip fans into a magical frenzy on June 10.
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The first video showed Sally running toward her husband Michael, who, in a meme-worthy edit, had ‘Practical Magic 2’ on his T-shirt. The pair eventually epically embraces, implying that the sequel is happening. There are also clips of Gillian making a Practical Magic 2 potion and the pair bringing the sequel to life.
No set date has been revealed, with the social media post only highlighting the sequel’s infancy.
When this article was published, the post received over 44,000 likes, and over a thousand fans commented.
Among the movie buffs commenting, actress and star of Arrow Katie Cassidy said: “STOP it!!!!! This is the BEST NEWS EVER!!!!” with artist and cosplayer Alyson Tabbitha, who has 1.3 million Instagram followers, adding: “WHAT IM FREAKING THE HECK OUT THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES.”
New York Times Best-Selling Author R.H. Sin quoted a line from the movie and shared: “I never saw this coming! ‘You’re always on my mind!!!!!'”
Although the post did not mention who would appear in the sequel, according to People [link], the female leads will join the coven again.
While talking to the publication about her new Netflix film A Family Affair, Kidman said when asked about the sequel: “Yes, I will be in it. And Sandy will be in it. And that’s that.”
What has the cast done since?
Bullock and Kidman’s careers went from strength to strength after the film. Between them, they have starred in mega-blockbusters and popular TV shows such as Bullet Train and The Lost City, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, and Big Little Lies, respectively. But what about the rest of the cast?
Griffin Dunne directed the movie. Fans of the film will also have spotted him as an actor in the NBC show This Is US as Nicky Pearson. That’s right, Jack Pearson’s (Milo Ventimiglia) troubled army vet brother, who joined the show in 2018 and stayed on until the final tear-jerking episode in season 6, US.
Although a director has yet to be announced, keep your fingers crossed that Dunne will return to the director’s seat.
Channing, who is an icon for playing Rizzo in Grease, starred in The West Wing for 69 episodes as Abbey Bartlet the year after the movie, playing the role from 1999 until 2006 and more recently can be seen in Knuckles on Paramount+ as Wendy Whipple.
Wiest can be seen recently in Mayor of Kingstown as Mariam McLusky, whom she played for 20 episodes across seasons 1 and 2. She also starred in the movie Sisters with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and multiple episodes of Law and Order as acting District Attorney for the County of New York Nora Lewin.
Visnjic played Luca Kovac in ER for 185 episodes starting the year after the film premiered in 1999 until 2008 and has also popped up in TV shows Extant and The Boys and the 2022 Hulu horror flick Hellraiser.
We might be unsure of who will be getting out their crystals, burning sage, and appearing in the sequel, but we can say with some confidence that unless there is a weird alternative timeline arch, Camilla Belle, who played a young Sally in the movie, and Lora Anne Criswell, who played a young Gillian, will not be appearing. They played the junior versions of the characters aged 11 and 10, respectively, which is highly unlikely they will return.
Fortunately for Belle, she has gone on to carve a very successful career in the biz in films such as Push alongside Chris Evans and, more recently, appeared in multiple episodes of Law & Order: Organized Crime. Criswell did not pursue a career in acting, with her only other credit listed on IMDb being Mockingbird Don’t Sing in 2001, but you never know, Practical Magic 2 would be a great project to come out of retirement for.
Aidan Quinn appeared as Gary Hallet in the 1998 film, an investigator looking into the disappearance of Jimmy, who eventually becomes Sally’s love interest. The Elementary star would be an obvious choice to return, as would Sally’s children from her deceased partner, Michael.
Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood played her oldest daughter, Kylie Owens, with Alexandra Artrip playing the youngest, Antonia Owens. Wood is no stranger to the big and small screen appearing in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, among other titles, so it would make a great addition for her to come back and play an older and more magical version of her previous character. From what can be found online, Artrip ended her short acting career with Practical Magic, but again, everyone loves a comeback.
That’s all we know for now, but keep your eyes peeled and your crystal ball tuned into Soundsphere for the latest news on Practical Magic and all your TV and film needs.
