Directed by Anne Fletcher, the Disney+ original movie Hocus Pocus 2 brings back the Sanderson sisters – witches Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Mary (Kathy Najimy) – nearly 30 years later. When a teenager lights the Black Flame Candle, the 17th-century troublemakers are resurrected to run amok and continue wreaking havoc all over Salem before the end of All Hallow’s Eve, leaving a trail of mayhem in their renewed quest for immortality.

During this conference for the sequel, co-stars Midler and Najimy were joined by Fletcher to talk about how this sequel was a dream come true, why this is a film that generations continue to show their families, including musical numbers, why they had to create new costumes for the sisters, and what they hope audiences will take from the sequel.

Question: Bette, did you ever think this day would finally come?

BETTE MIDLER: I didn’t until the day finally came. And then, I realized, “Oh, we’re really gonna do this.” This was a dream come true, it really was. After I realized it was actually a phenomenon, I started asking people around my age, “Don’t you think they would be interested in a sequel?” This was a long time ago. This was like 15 years ago, or something like that. And here we are.

And you love a franchise.

MIDLER: I do love a franchise. I think I’m a little elderly for a franchise, at this point, but I’ll take what I can get.

Kathy, why do you think Hocus Pocus became such a classic?

KATHY NAJIMY: Other than my performance? No. I don’t think that anyone could ever decide that ahead of time, or else everybody would make that kind of movie. You just make films, and you go on to the next one. However, the audience receives it is always a surprise. There was something in this film that was The Wizard of Oz-ish, where the generation shows it to their kids, who then show it to their kids, and so on, and it becomes part of the fabric of the history of the family. I don’t think that anyone could ever predict that.

ANNE FLETCHER: I agree. I think that’s right. I think it is generational, and it’s perennial. You can watch it with your whole family.

Anne, what was your mission for the musical numbers in this?

FLETCHER: The mission, in general, is the story, honoring the first movie, carrying that into the sequel, making sure that I’m honoring these characters for the fans, and bringing it into a new generation. The musical numbers are there for story. I didn’t feel like I could compete with “I Put a Spell on You,” which Bette and Marc Shaiman wrote. That was an original song. They did the arrangement and the lyrics. I can’t compete with that, so I didn’t try. We stayed really focused on trying to stay more towards the story. We just had so many fun options of songs to choose from, and that’s where we landed. And who doesn’t wanna see Bette Midler sing?

NAJIMY: This is my fourth or fifth project with Anne, and she’s one of the hugest reasons that we got through this thing. She’s just one of the best people, one of the best directors and one of the best artists, ever in the world. I’m madly in love with her.

Anne, how did you end up casting Sam Richardson as Gilbert?

FLETCHER: I was like, “Oh, he’s fantastic for Gilbert.” And then, he came to set. We never met. We never talked. Actors never do that. Just FYI, they always wanna meet the director and speak to the director. And here Sam is on set, in his costume, and I’m like, “Nice to meet you. I’m so happy you’re doing this movie.” We were getting to know each other. We’re both from Detroit, so we were talking about that stuff. And then, finally, I said, “Why did you take this movie without meeting me?” It really was the weirdest thing. It just doesn’t happen. And he said, “Because I love Hocus Pocus.” I was like, “All right. Okay then.”

Anne, how did you collaborate with costume, hair, and makeup departments to bring the characters to life with updated looks, in comparison to the first film?

FLETCHER: Like I would do any movie. There was a lot to pull from the first movie. The magic shop is their old cottage. I worked with Nelson Coates, our production designer, Elliot Davis, our DP, and Sal Pérez, who did the costumes. None of the original costumes exist anymore.

NAJIMY: That’s not true.

FLETCHER: Well, we were told that. Some of them deteriorated. I think they’re in a museum in Seattle, Washington, but they’re in terrible shape, so we had to start from scratch. I thought about how all these big superhero movies change everything up. And then, at the end of the day, we decided to just stay true to what their witches clothes were, but give them new material. The symbols on all three of the witches outfits, especially Bette’s, mean something. It actually comes from modern-day Wicca. In the 1600s, that version of witchcraft was tethered to the earth, the ocean, and the stars, all tied together. It’s all reflected on Winifred’s cloak and in Mary’s rings. She also has it. The three witches have these symbols, as well as each witch’s color stone, in their matching necklace. Sal was amazing with the costumes. Hannah [Waddingham]’s wardrobe, the mother witch, has a lot of the iconography of the movie.

Bette and Kathy, after almost 30 years, what do the Sanderson sisters represent to you? What do you hope people take from their return?

MIDLER: We talked a lot about sisterhood, and we talked a lot about leaning on each other and counting on each other and having loyalty to each other. In this world, there’s so much going on in this world that we never really realized, until maybe the last 25, 30, or 50 years. Things have changed for women, but things have not changed fast enough for women. And I think these three characters are really, in a strange and odd way, quite positive for women. First of all, they’re very funny, which women are not supposed to be. And they’re intensely loyal to each other, even though it’s a very broad range of emotions that they live through. In a funny way, their bond is very, very strong. In any situation where women are together, a bond of friendship and sisterhood is really, really important. This movie shores it up.

NAJIMY: And there’s very little hesitation in our ideas and the things that we’re gonna do. We’re like, “This is what we have to get done. We’re gonna get it done, even if it’s eat children.” Whatever it is that our mission is, there’s not a lot of second-guessing, which I don’t think you see a lot.

MIDLER: There’s no second-guessing. We’re very decisive. We’re a very decisive group, which goes also goes to show that women can be decisive.

Hocus Pocus 2 is available to stream at Disney+.