“Hocus Pocus” Director Teases How Allison Might Be a Witch: 'She Had a Mystical Beauty'

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"I did feel the whole time that there was a little witch there," Ortega told 'Entertainment Weekly' of Vinessa Shaw's character

<p>Mary Evans/Ronald Grant/Everett</p> Vinessa Shaw, Thora Birch and Omri Katz in <em>Hocus Pocus</em> (2023)

Is Hocus Pocus' Allison a witch? Many fans seem to think so — and director Kenny Ortega doesn't necessarily disagree.

Thirty years after the release of the cult-classic Halloween film, Ortega, 73, spoke with Entertainment Weekly about theories that teenage coven expert Allison (played by Vinessa Shaw) might possess some witchiness herself.

"I thought she was bewitching as a teenage girl. It was not typical for Max [Omri Katz] to fall head over heels for her," the director said. "She had a mystical beauty, and she was bewitching."

While Allison's history isn't explored much in the movie, she notes that her mom once ran a museum inside the cottage that used to belong to the Sanderson sisters (played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy) 300 years previous. Midler's character, oldest Sanderson sister Winifred, also mockingly calls Allison "a clever little white witch" later in the movie as she expertly uses a circle of salt to ward off the witches.

"I did feel the whole time that there was a little witch there," Ortega said, adding that he even spoke with Disney Channel years later about a "potential for a spinoff" that never panned out, that would explore more of that side of Allison's character.

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<p>Buena Vista/courtesy Everett </p> Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw and Omri Katz in <em>Hocus Pocus</em> (1993)

Buena Vista/courtesy Everett

Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw and Omri Katz in Hocus Pocus (1993)

Related: How 'Hocus Pocus 2' Connects to the Original Movie

Hocus Pocus wasn't Allison's last appearance in the franchise. In the 2018 book Hocus Pocus and the All-New Sequel, her character appears alongside her now-husband Max 25 years later, as parents to a 17-year-old daughter named Poppy who "finds herself face-to-face with the Sanderson sisters in all their sinister glory," according to an official synopsis.

"When Halloween celebrations don’t quite go as planned, it’s a race against time as Poppy and her friends fight to save her family and all of Salem from the witches’ latest vile scheme," it adds.

And while Allison didn't appear in the long-awaited 2022 sequel Hocus Pocus 2 alongside Midler, 77, Parker, 58, and Najimy, 66, she has voiced her desire to return as her character.

"I haven't heard anything," Shaw, 47, told Entertainment Tonight in October 2021. "I know, it's so disappointing. I would love to do the sequel. It would be so much fun. I think there's just a different storyline with younger people, but why can't we all come back in some way?"

<p>AJ Pics / Alamy</p> Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker in <em>Hocus Pocus</em> (1993)

AJ Pics / Alamy

Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker in Hocus Pocus (1993)

Related: Sarah Jessica Parker Would Do a 'Hocus Pocus 3' If Bette Midler Does: 'No One Says No to' Her

She also had a theory for where Allison would be 28 years later after teaming up with Max and his little sister Dani (Thora Birch) to save the children of Salem, Massachusetts.

"I feel like she and Max are still together but I think Allison's from Salem and he always wants to be in California," the actress said. "I think they did some sort of compromise and maybe she's in Salem when the witches come back, you know, visiting her mom or something."

A third Hocus Pocus film was announced as officially in development at Disney in June, after Hocus Pocus 2 broke streaming records when it debuted on Disney+ the previous September.

As for the potential involvement of Shaw, Katz, 47, and Birch, 41, for the third movie, Hocus Pocus 2 screenwriter Jen D’Angelo told Variety, "We tried so hard to get the original cast back for cameos [in the sequel] and then it just kept not working out for one reason or the other."

“But I’m hoping in Hocus Pocus 3, we’ll see Max and Allison living in California," she added.

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