Halloween Came Early with the 'Practical Magic 2' Announcement
The Practical Magic 2 news has me wishing on a leaf for all things autumnal.
The weather where I’m at has been playing mind games with me. When I wake up, there’s a crispness to the air that makes me think the day will be full of pumpkin-flavored foods and drinks while the leaves fall. Then, only a few hours later, it’s another hot and humid day, and I wish I could fast forward to the next season all over again. Unexpectedly, this week, that wish came true.
Well, it didn’t really come true because summer hasn’t even begun, but I got a taste of my favorite season of the year when Warner Bros. announced a Practical Magic sequel. The company’s TikTok posted the weirdest edits that alluded to a follow-up movie, but they seemed almost too chaotic to be true. Still, I told my mom, who introduced me to the movie, and I texted friends (Some of the best women in my life!) who loved the original and the Halloween time in general.
Excitingly, instead of closing my windows to block out the heat, the refreshing breeze stayed on that Monday. The temperatures were more than manageable; they were enjoyable. During my nightly walk, I almost expected to see Halloween decorations in my neighbors’ yards and pumpkins on doorsteps. Is it simply a fact that the weather was nicer just before a massive heat wave? Yes, but I also like to believe that the weather reflected the news because it knew the significance of Practical Magic and a sequel after 26 years of wishing. I could feel the magic.
The original movie, directed by Griffin Dunne, starred Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, who came from a lineage of witches. Maria Owens cast a spell on herself to never feel love’s pain again when the man she loved left her pregnant and alone. That spell became a curse with the omen of a deathwatch beetle as the years passed and great Owens’ loves were lost through generations. “But as her bitterness grew, the spell turned into a curse. A curse on any man who dared love an Owens woman,” Stockard Channing’s Aunt Frances said. Sally and Gillian tried to break the curse and cover up that Sally killed Gillian’s abusive boyfriend, Jimmy, to protect her sister. And Officer Gary Hallet, Sally’s impossibly perfect man she dreamt of in a spell, investigated Jimmy’s death.
I don’t want to spoil any more of Practical Magic—or Alice Hoffman’s 1995 book of the same name, from which the movie is adapted—for you because it is much better to go in knowing as little as possible. However, you should know that the book is very different from the movie; it focuses on Sally’s two daughters instead.
Most of all, I beg you not to watch the trailer. I love romantic comedies. This newsletter was founded on my desire for a space to gush about them. But Practical Magic is not a rom-com. It does, however, contain the best of multiple genres.
This dynamic movie helps me feel closer to the women in my life and appreciate the little things, like throwing spilled salt over my left shoulder, keeping rosemary by my garden gate, planting lavender for luck, and falling in love whenever I can. Practical Magic also makes me yearn for superficial things: the sound of stepping on—or even jumping into—a freshly raked pile of leaves, wearing cable knit sweaters to walk around a park or see what’s new at Spirit Halloween, drinking apple cider out of a ghost mug, and having horror movie marathons with friends.
As someone who reads, watches, and writes supernatural stories and appreciates the mirrors they hold up to society, I watch Practical Magic a lot. I’m not the only one to have done so in more than two decades since its 1998 theatrical release. Its milestone anniversaries have come and gone, with plenty of talented writers reflecting on its endurance and resonance. One of my favorite pieces is Alanna Bennett’s 2018 article for Buzzfeed News — “Practical Magic” Is 20 Years Old And Just As Relevant As Ever. Bennett walks through every ethereal detail of this timeless masterpiece, even comparing its themes to real-world politics.
I highly suggest the entire piece because it was written with much thought and care. And if it helps to pique your interest, here are two of my favorite quotes:
“Practical Magic is not interested in showing us the pain without also showing us that, complicated as the journey may be, there is still life left to be lived on the other side of that hurt. There is still love to be felt.”
“Audiences don’t have access to the magical powers that help these women onscreen. But if the art is built with enough love and craft, a movie can act as a balm for a weathered soul watching it.”
My favorite supernatural stories deal with death and grief and life persevering, and Practical Magic is one of them. Because it’s my favorite show, I frequently think about how The Vampire Diaries co-creator Kevin Williamson was drawn to the project (in part) because Elena Gilbert was experiencing such significant loss and met a vampire, Stefan Salvatore, who brought her back to life. Similarly, I, like most people, also ruminate on Vision’s now iconic line from WandaVision, written by Laura Donney: “What is grief, if not love persevering?”
Love and loss are naturally and eternally bound. It’s logical to turn to art for comfort or to make sense of it all. There’s a community in that experience that I find healing and hopeful. I often feel the most optimistic between the months of September and November because those stories are celebrated in abundance. Well, it also has much to do with the sweltering weather subsiding. But, mostly, it’s because everything feels possible to me in the fall — magic is in the air.
Practical Magic is a part of that. A movie about witches encourages me to believe in more than the mundane: that sisterhood can be magic incarnate. This thought is particularly soothing now that most of my closest female friendships have become long-distance. In turn, Practical Magic is a comfort movie for me during every part of the year, but especially that time when it’s a little easier to believe a broom falling means company’s coming or I can light a candle with my breath.
Set in a small town with a cliffside Victorian house full of witches, Practical Magic even has an Alan Silvestri score and a soundtrack that will sweep you up (Pun intended!). Stevie Nicks’ re-recordings of “Crystal” and “If You Ever Did Believe, “Coconut” by Harry Nilsson, Faith Hill’s “This Kiss,” and more gems make this movie even better. Here’s to hoping Practical Magic 2 keeps that musical energy!
While no director is attached to the sequel, Kidman recently confirmed that she and Bullock will return. Akiva Goldsman will write the screenplay, with Bullock and Kidman expected to produce alongside Denise Di Novi. Goldsman penned Practical Magic’s script with Robin Swicord and Adam Brooks. One thing is certain: I will always show up to see what’s next for the Owens women.
💌 Shelby
Featured Photo Source: Warner Bros.