Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw and Thora Birch may not have been brought back to reprise their roles in Hocus Pocus 2, but Max, Allison and Dani do make an appearance crucial to the storyline of the Disney+ sequel.
Set in modern-day Salem nearly 30 years after the events of the original movie, Hocus Pocus 2 follows teenagers Becca (Whitney Peak), Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) and Cassie (Lilia Buckingham) as they take on the Sanderson Sisters after accidentally summoning them through a new Black Flame Candle.
But diehard fans couldn’t help but notice the odes to the original movie — including one appearance by our original three characters so quick that if you blink, you might miss it.
The three friends are sold the Black Flame Candle by magic shop owner Gilbert (Sam Richardson), who later explains his reasoning behind wanting to bring the witches back. In a flashback to Halloween 1993 (when the original takes place), a young Gilbert walks solemnly through Salem after having his candy stolen by a bunch of bullies. Jay and Ice, perhaps?
That’s when he saw Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy) and Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker) flying through the air on their brooms and decided to follow them to the cemetery, where he looked onto one of the final scenes of the first movie as the witches evaporated into a bunch of colorful sparkles. And just below them, you will notice the silhouettes of Max, Dani, Allison and Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones) looking on as it all went down.
This prompted Gilbert to go back to the Sanderson Sisters’ house, where he found Winifred’s spell book, who was awake and showed him how to create another Black Flame Candle.
Director Anne Fletcher previously opened up to EW about why the actors weren’t included in the sequel, telling the outlet that it was “difficult” to incorporate them and that giving them a background cameo would leave fans unsatisfied and angry.
Max, Dani and Allison aren’t the only ones who make an appearance via the first film. As Winifred flies by someone’s house, she looks in the window to find them watching the first Hocus Pocus. The scene playing on the television shows the late brother/sister duo Penny and Garry Marshall, who played the angry wife with curlers in her hair and the man dressed as Satan in the first movie.
Hocus Pocus 2 is currently streaming on Disney+.
