Well, this is a fun one. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are dusting off their spell books and finally reuniting for a Practical Magic sequel. Yes, to the 1998 movie that critics shrugged at and audiences turned into a comfort-watch cult favorite over the last 25 years. It flopped back then, found its people later, and now it’s getting a second life with the original Owens sisters back in the kitchen.
How we got here
The first Practical Magic was based on Alice Hoffman’s novel and directed by Griffin Dunne. It pulled in $68.3 million at the box office against a $75 million budget and took a beating from reviewers, but it has aged into a beloved October staple. Dunne approached Bullock first for Sally Owens; she then pitched Kidman for Gillian because their energies balanced each other out in a way only siblings (or witches) can.
"I was like, 'Nicole Kidman seems like the perfect person.' Our energies are so opposite that we needed what the other person had. I know I needed what she had... it’s just one of those magical things."
Release date and production timeline
Practical Magic 2 hits theaters September 18, 2026, right in time for spooky season. Deadline first reported in June 2024 that Bullock and Kidman were in talks to return, and things have moved steadily since.
Susanne Bier is directing this time around. She’s worked with both leads before — she directed Bullock in 2018’s Bird Box and Kidman in 2024’s The Perfect Couple — so the vibe should be dialed in. Bier and Kidman kicked off filming with a July 2025 Instagram video of the two actresses hugging on set, captioned: "The witches are back. Owens sisters' first day on set!" By September 2025, Kidman posted another clip of the pair walking into the sunset and confirmed the wrap with: "That’s a wrap on Practical Magic 2. Thank you to the cast & crew for all your magic."
Who is writing it
Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the original, is back on script duty alongside Georgia Pritchett (Succession). Good mix of nostalgia and sharp, modern sensibility there.
Cast
Along with the returning sister act, some familiar faces and new blood are in the mix. Here’s who we know so far:
- Sandra Bullock as Sally Owens
- Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens
- Dianne Wiest back as Bridget 'Jet' Owens
- Stockard Channing back as Frances 'Franny' Owens
- Joey King as one of Sally’s daughters
- Xolo Mariduena in an undisclosed role
- Maisie Williams in an undisclosed role
- Lee Pace in an undisclosed role
- Solly McLeod in an undisclosed role
One update fans might not love: Evan Rachel Wood, who played Sally’s daughter Kylie in the original, says she wasn’t invited back. She told fans she offered to appear "even if it was one scene or one line" but "I was told they are recasting." She added she would have happily rejoined her on-screen sisters. Tough break — and a surprising one — but the sequel is clearly reshuffling some of the younger roles.
So what’s this one about?
The original followed Sally and Gillian, two witchy sisters trying to break a family curse that kills the men they love — which goes about as well as you remember once a boyfriend dies and raises some complicated ethical questions about resurrection.
The sequel pulls from Alice Hoffman’s fourth book in the Practical Magic series, The Book of Magic. Producer Denise Di Novi says they want to keep the heart of the first movie — not reinvent it to death.
"I think the big mistake people make with sequels is when they kind of want to reinvent the wheel and be totally original... There’s a joyousness to that movie, and there’s such beautiful themes of sisterhood and family and acceptance, tolerance, love... We really want to honor all of that."
Warner Bros. has been playing up the return to these characters after 25 years, and the book’s synopsis gives the best hint at the plot: it follows three generations of Owens women using their gifts to finally break the curse after a deathbed revelation. Translation: expect the aunts, the sisters, and the next generation all tangled up in the same family magic — literally and thematically.
The bottom line
A cult favorite that bombed on release getting a glossy, star-driven sequel nearly three decades later? That’s the kind of Hollywood swing I’m always curious about. With Bullock and Kidman back, Susanne Bier directing, and a September 18, 2026 date locked, the cauldron’s simmering. If you want a refresher before the sequel: Practical Magic is streaming on Max.