People long for simpler times, say Practical Magic reboot stars

Actresses Joey King and Maisie Williams are joining the cast of the sequel to portray the daughters of Sandra Bullock's character Mix together a beloved film simmering for decades, a sprinkling of social media hype and a generous glug of star power and you just might conjure up the long-awaited sequel to Practical Magic. The 1998 fantasy romcom, starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as witchy sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, received mixed reviews from critics when it was first released. But it's put a spell on a new generation discovering it online, with some now regarding the film as a cult classic and autumn staple. The demand for a follow-up 30 years on, they say. "You never get the opportunity to do something where people really are asking you, 'please do it'," says Bullock. "It's usually us going to them." Actresses Joey King and Maisie Williams are joining the cast this time round to play Sally's daughters, Kylie and Antonia. Kissing Booth star King tells BBC Newsbeat she feels this desire for nostalgic content, which has become one of the defining forces within entertainment in recent years, has been influenced by "the world moving so fast". Practical Magic 2 sees the cast return to a world which is steeped in powerful ancestral magic "I think with technology moving at the speed that it is, we're really missing the times when we were less reachable," she says. "If we couldn't figure out something, we'd stare out the window until it came to us, and I think we're nostalgic for a time like that." She feels this can also be a strength of cinema as it can help "make memories" and "feelings" for people that they can revisit by rewatching. The upcoming release comes at a time when reboots, reunions and remakes are dominating film and TV lists. There are also nods to the original throughout, with bubbling family tension, dark romantic "witchcore" fashion and the iconic midnight margaritas. US acting stalwarts Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing return to their roles for the follow-up, while Guardians of the Galaxy actor Lee Pace, Cobra Kai's Xolo Maridueña and House of the Dragon's Solly McLeod are new additions. Reviews so far have been mixed, with the Guardian describing it as a "nostalgia-bait return", external which is as "strange and messy as the first" but with "warm seasonal pleasures to be had". Meanwhile The Hollywood Reporter, external says the "slapdash" sequel "works better the less you look for any sense of logic, and the more you just lean into the transient joys of watching these actresses bounce off each other".