This week, whimsigoths from New England to the PNW will be celebrating a long-awaited sequel. Practical Magic 2 revisits characters first conjured in Alice Hoffman’s best-selling novel, and made cult classic in the 1998 film adaptation, which follows the Owens sisters/aunts through a spooky caper in a beautifully lit Cape Cod. I’m excited to return. The groupchat is excited. But after so long away from the island, we got questions.
Though word on the street says the plot of Practical Magic 2 is lifted from Hoffman’s 2021 sequel, The Book of Magic, I’ve also spent the past twenty years imagining the Owens’ fate. But once again, the people at Denise Di Novi’s office refused to get back to me. As you polish your broomsticks and margarita recipes, consider if you will what might have been.
1. Practical Magic 2: Ghostsisters
Jimmy Angelov, the vampire-coded deadbeat, just can’t seem to quit the Owens line. His nasty spirit comes unstuck from the grave when Antonia, the brown-haired Millennial witch, works a wonky raise-the-dead spell directed at her late great aunt. (RIP, Jet.)
Though most of the island’s departed are benevolent fishermen and judgmental PTA parents—insert a murderer’s row of character actors here—Jimmy is as inclined to mayhem now as he was in the 90s. And the big nap’s only made him thirstier for tequila spiked with sister blood.
