Hocus Pocus Star Doug Jones Gets Candid About Returning To Set For The Sequel
This year marks the return of those cauldron-cooking villains the Sanderson Sisters, who are back to cast a spell on audiences in "Hocus Pocus 2." Returning after almost 30 years since the original Disney film, Winifred (Bette Midler), Mary (Kathy Najimy), and Sarah Sanderson (Sarah Jessica Parker) are on another hell-bent mission to suck all the souls out of the children of Salem. There are Black Flame Candles, sentient page-turners, and thankfully, a new band of young heroes to throw some salt in whatever scheme they're hatching. However, one extra special undead touch is the return of the rotting hero Billy Butcherson, played by the iconic Doug Jones. In one of his earliest performances on the big screen, Doug Jones brought (back) to life a very old and rotten love of Sarah Sanderson, who fought against the firefly from hell and her sisters in the original film.
Four years later, Jones appeared in Guillermo del Toro's "Mimic," beginning a friendship that would elevate his career by way of "Pan's Labyrinth," "Hellboy," and the Oscar-winning "The Shape of Water." If it's a groundbreaking creature feature, Jones was likely the man behind the mask — or prosthetics, as is the case for his role as Captain Saru in "Star Trek: Discovery." Jones is quite simply a legend, so returning to a role that helped make him one is something that fans will no doubt be excited to see. Thankfully, even after almost three decades, while Billy may have been rotting away, Jones' love for his zombified alter ego hasn't been.
Billy still bites back at Winifred in Hocus Pocus 2
Speaking to Screen Rant about donning the putrid ponytail and unstitched lips of Billy Butcherson, Doug Jones revealed that much like the Sanderson Sisters and their undead enemy, it felt like they were running through Salem only yesterday chasing after kids and a talking cat. "Everyone has the same personalities, we all clicked back into our characters so easily with all the quirks and idiosyncrasies and the relationships were still there," Jones assured, referring to his "Hocus Pocus 2" co-stars. "I still had biting comments back and forth with Winifred, it was all in place, and Billy came back to me so easily."
As to why returning to the role was as easy as it was for him, Jones didn't have an answer. "I don't know what it was, he's always been living in me all these years. [Laughs] He kind of woke up again with the costume, makeup and hair going back on, it was kind of easy," he said. Either that or well, some things really are just magic.