Practical Magic 2 is already sky-high on our list of most-anticipated 2026 releases. The 1998 original follows the romantic misadventures of the witchy Owens sisters, played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman—and has since become a Halloween-adjacent cult classic. It maybe didn’t need a sequel, but Hollywood knows that fans have long wanted one. And now we know more of the names joining Bullock and Kidman this time around.
First things first: bringing back Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest—the aunts of Bullock and Kidman’s characters, who raised them after their parents died—was essential, and as Deadline reports, it’s definitely happening. Midnight margaritas for everyone!
But we’re more interested in the supporting cast, especially since it might hold clues to the plot of Practical Magic 2. Joey King came aboard in May as, according to the Hollywood Reporter, “one of Bullock’s daughters, the one who discovers the dark family secrets and her own dark powers, plunging the family into a crisis.”
But in that same Deadline report breaking the Channing and Wiest news, more names surfaced in the cauldron: Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones‘ Arya Stark), Xolo Maridueña (Cobra Kai, Blue Beetle), Solly McLeod (House of the Dragon), and… ladies and gentlemen, Lee Pace (Foundation).
“Character details for the newcomers are under wraps, as is the plot of the sequel,” the trade notes, though a 2024 Entertainment Weekly story suggests reading Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic, the sequel to her Practical Magic source-material novel, might yield some suggestions.
But with King playing one of Sally Owens’ daughters, it’s not too far of a stretch to imagine that Williams could play the other daughter. Continuing the speculation, Maridueña and McLeod are the right ages to play, perhaps, boyfriends or husbands of this younger generation of spellcasters.
But how does Pace fit into all this? Could the cult-beloved actor, currently appearing in season three of Apple TV+ sci-fi series Foundation, be filling a villain role? He definitely has a flair for drama and wearing fantastical outfits (see: Thranduil the Elvenking in The Hobbit movies; Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel; his character in The Fall‘s fantasy iteration). The Book of Magic also features a long-lost Owens brother, so that’s also a possibility for Pace.
That means there’s just one big name left to tick off the Practical Magic 2 call sheet: Aidan Quinn, who plays the drawling lawman who falls in love with Bullock’s character in the first movie. Surely we’ll hear one way or another about his plans before the movie hits theaters September 18, 2026.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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