Evan Rachel Wood was not asked back for Practical Magic 2
Last year, it was officially announced that Warner Bros. is moving forward with a sequel to the 1998 film Practical Magic, with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman reprising the roles of sister witches Sally and Gillian Owens. Producer Denise Di Novi has promised that the sequel, which is aiming for a September 18, 2026 theatrical release, will honor the original and not attempt to reinvent the wheel – but that doesn’t mean they’re bringing all of the original cast members back. Evan Rachel Wood, who played Sally’s daughter Kylie in the original film, has confirmed that she will not be back for the sequel. But her absence from the film was not her choice.
The Hollywood Reporter caught Wood’s confirmation on her Instagram Stories. She wrote, “I am getting asked about this a lot, so l’ll just clear it up now; I was not asked to come back and be in the Practical Magic sequel. l offered my services, even if it was one scene or one line. I was told they are recasting. I am sorry to disappoint the fans. It was not in my control or my choice. I would have happily rejoined my sisters.“
Based on a novel by Alice Hoffman and directed by Griffin Dunne from a screenplay by Robin Swicord, Akiva Goldsman, and Adam Brooks, Practical Magic revolves around two witch sisters, Sally Owens (Sandra Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman), who live in a small town alongside their eccentric aunts Frances (Stockard Channing) and Jet (Dianne Wiest). As the sisters attempt to practice their craft, they face closed-minded prejudice and a curse that threatens to prevent them from ever finding lasting love. The curse dictates that whoever falls in love with one of the sisters dies an untimely death. Sally and Gillian live separate lives with different approaches to their magical gifts. Sally chooses to live quietly, while Gillian is a wild child who flaunts her abilities. When the sisters accidentally kill Gillian’s violent partner, Jimmy Angelov (Goran Visnjic), a string of supernatural events unfold, sending the duo into a race to undo a family curse.
Akiva Goldsman is writing the script for Practical Magic 2. Plot details haven’t been revealed yet, but Hoffman has given the filmmakers plenty of source material to work with: the Practical Magic novel has two prequels (The Rules of Magic and Magic Lessons) and a sequel (The Book of Magic). Susanne Bier, who directed Bullock in Netflix’s Bird Box and worked with Kidman on HBO’s The Undoing and Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, is on board to direct the film, which will be filming in London.
Bullock and Kidman are joined in the cast of the sequel by Joey King (The Kissing Booth), Lee Pace (Foundation), Maisie Williams (The New Look), Xolo Maridueña (Blue Beetle), and Solly McLeod (The Dead Don’t Hurt). Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are reprising the roles of Frances and Jet. When King was cast, it was said that she would be playing Sally’s daughter, so it sounds like she might be Wood’s replacement, which would de-age the character by 12 years. King and Bullock were both in the cast of the 2022 action film Bullet Train, and King played Kidman’s daughter in the Netflix rom-com A Family Affair just last year.
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