The road to creating “Practical Magic 2” has not been entirely smooth for everyone involved, but according to Joey King, at least one potentially awkward situation has been handled with real grace.
At the film’s Los Angeles premiere, King told The Hollywood Reporter she had a conversation with Evan Rachel Wood after taking over the role that Wood originated in the 1998 cult classic. King said the conversation was “lovely” and that she was grateful for her support.
“I was just so appreciative of the support that [Wood] showed to me and to the rest of the cast,” King said. “She is so talented and so beautiful and she made this role so special when she was a young girl. I feel so grateful to be able to play Kylie at this age but I love Evan so much and I’m so appreciative of her kind words and the exchange that her and I shared.”
‘Practical Magic 2’ Will Not Follow the Original Novels
The sequel, set 25 years after the original film, sees Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprising their roles as witch sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, but King and Maisie Williams will step into the roles of Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia. The parts were originally played by Wood and Alexandria Artrip as children.
Wood has been candid that the decision wasn’t hers. She revealed on Instagram last year that she was never asked to return, despite offering to appear even in a single scene or line. She later told Entertainment Tonight she understood the creative reasoning behind the choice. “It seems like they’re not following the book,” she said.
‘Not in My Control Or My Choice’
The sequel’s direction diverges from Alice Hoffman’s source novel in a way that made her return make less narrative sense, even though bringing back the original cast’s children as adults would have worked well with the book’s version of the story.
Still, Wood didn’t hide her disappointment. “It was not in my control or my choice,” she said.
She described feeling “sad” about missing the chance to reunite with a cast she bonded deeply with as a child actor. Wood called the experience of returning to that story and that house as an adult something that “can’t be faked” and an opportunity she was sorry would not exist for fans either.
Director Susan Beir offered her own reasoning behind the recasting. Beir explained that the story required actors within a specific age range, since the characters are meant to be freshly out of college in the sequel’s timeline. She said King and Williams simply felt like the right fit for that particular stage of the character’s lives.
A Star-Studded Return
Beyond Bullock, Kidman, King and Williams, “Practical Magic 2” also brings back original cast members Stockard Channing and Diane Wiest as Aunts Frances and Jet. They will appear alongside newcomers Lee Pace, Xolo Mariduena, and Solly McLeod. The film, directed by Beir with a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett, arrives in theatres September 11. The film’s theatrical release comes nearly three decades after the original became a beloved cult classic.
