Doug Jones reveals that news of Hocus Pocus 2's development was a pleasant surprise when he was asked to return to play Billy Butcherson. Jones first portrayed the zombie in the original 1993 horror-fantasy comedy movie. Hocus Pocus 2 is scheduled to release on Disney+ on September 30, nearly three decades after the first film.
In the original Hocus Pocus, Jones portrayed the shambling, undead ex-boyfriend of Bette Midler's Winifred Sanderson, who poisoned and buried Butcherson with his lips stitched closed. Despite their past, Winifred and her sisters resurrected Billy as a zombie to help retrieve their spellbook from the hands of Max, Dani, Allison, and the boy-turned-cat Thackery Binx. Eventually, Billy turned on them to aid the children in vanquishing the Sanderson sisters once more. In the Hocus Pocus 2 trailer released during the D23 Expo, Jones returns as Billy Butcherson once more, crawling out of his grave and proclaiming that he is a good zombie. While much isn't currently known about Butcherson's role in the sequel, Jones has opened up about his reaction to being approached to reprise his role.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Jones reveals that he first learned of a potential sequel during a screening held to celebrate Hocus Pocus' 20th anniversary. It still took some time after that for the project to become official, though. Since the actor didn't expect to return to the role after 29 years, Jones explains that it was a "lovely surprise," saying:
The fans have been rumbling about it forever. But I was at the 20-year anniversary screening of Hocus Pocus nine years ago at the Disney lot. One of our producers, David Kirschner, was there talking with my makeup artist, Tony Gardner, and they were conversing about the sequel that they were pitching to the studio. That's when I realized, "Oh, it might actually happen," and then here we are nine years later, finally. So in the meantime, there's been a lot of rumors and more fan art with like, "Here's the poster," and it's like, "Wait, someone has really good PhotoShop skills, but that's not happening yet." [Laughs] So finally, to have a call from Ralph Winter, our producer that was our feet-on-the-ground producer from the first movie, him him call me back and say, "Hey, we are back and they want you back, and here's the deal." I anticipated and hoped, but never thought like, you never expect like that I'm gonna get to reprise the role that I loved playing 29 years later, it was a lovely surprise and very nostalgic.
As Jones puts it, there has been talk of a Hocus Pocus 2 across all corners of the internet for years. Rumors and fan art can throw a person off, but they can also emphasize how slow progress is moving behind the scenes. After all, if fans can devise well-made art several times over before Disney has even announced the project, it's easy to believe the movie will never come to fruition. Therefore, it's understandable that Jones might've begun to suspect that he would never get to play Billy again. That Jones has returned to this character nearly 30 years after he first played him shows how strongly Hocus Pocus lives on within pop culture and further fuels excitement for the future.
Despite the long gap between the original film and the sequel, Hocus Pocus 2 is a highly anticipated release for Disney+, with the film potentially setting up future sequels should it meet Disney's expectations. While the original earned a place in audiences' hearts as a cult classic, Hocus Pocus was not a box office success during its initial release, making a sequel less likely despite gathering a strong fanbase as times passed. As such, Jones' pleasantly surprised reaction is something that many fans may relate to, as for many years, the potential for Hocus Pocus 2 seemed unlikely. Despite so much time passing, fans are sure to be excited for the return of Billy Butcherson and the Sanderson sisters when the sequel debuts on Disney+.