Sarah Jessica Parker is one busy actor. And while she has the talent to seamlessly shift between divergent roles, sometimes the process can take a little ... well, "Hocus Pocus."
As Parker, 57, tells Entertainment Weekly, her recent switch from a New York City trendsetter (Carrie Bradshaw in HBO Max's "Sex and the City" reboot "...And Just Like That") to a 300-year-old witch (Sarah Sanderson in "Hocus Pocus 2") required compartmentalization. And a refresher course.
"I was shooting '...And Just Like That,' finished, got in a van, drove to Providence, Rhode Island (for 'Hocus Pocus'), and started work the next day," Parker said in the interview. "I couldn’t look at a script beforehand because I couldn’t start learning lines for Sarah while playing Carrie."
No pressure, right? Fortunately, as she notes, "Hocus Pocus 2" executive producer Adam Shankman came to the rescue. He secured a copy of the original tale about the witchy Sanderson sisters, which came out in 1993. "I watched the whole thing," Parker said.
But the real surprise is that this was only the second time she'd ever watched "Hocus Pocus."
"I've only seen the first movie once in my life," Parker revealed.
She said watching the helped her get in character, but so did having her fellow "sisters" Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy shooting scenes with her. The trio all returned for the sequel.
"I wasn't supposed to start shooting (the day after re-watching the movie), but there was a big weather issue so we changed the schedule, and I was on camera the next day," said Parker. "Of course, you’re not alone; you’re working with two other gifted comedians who are also recalling, remembering, and figuring out: Who are we? What do we do? How do we work together? That came back strangely quick."
The new film kicks off with a theme similar to the original one: The Sandersons, who were believed to have been executed during the Salem Witch Trials, are awakened. This time it's three young women who mistakenly disturb their slumber, and it's those women who then have to prevent the "child-hungry witches from wreaking havoc on the world," per IMDB.
The new film's first trailer released in June, and featured Midler's Winifred crowing, "Lock up your children. Yes, Salem, we’re back!"
Back, and witchier than ever. "Hocus Pocus 2" will officially release on Disney+ on Sept. 30.