In Brief: ‘Hocus Pocus’ could get animated, and more

SHARE NOW

About My Father’s Leslie Bibb has joined Kiefer Sutherland and Nicholas Hoult in the Clint Eastwood-helmed legal thriller Juror No. 2, from Warner Bros., according to Deadline. Toni Collette and Zoey Deutch are also on board for the film that centers on, “family man Justin Kemp — played by Hoult — who, while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma … one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict — or free — the wrong killer,” per the studio. Bibb will next be seen in the Apple TV+ original series, Palm Royale, opposite Kristin Wiig, Alison Janney, Ricky Martin and Laura Dern

A third, possibly animated film in the Hocus Pocus franchise — once again featuring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as a trio of Salem witches — is currently in the works at Disney, Sean Bailey, President of the Studios’ Motion Picture Production tells The New York Times. “Kathy had a good idea that the third one should be animated,” he shares. “That would be cool and a smart idea. It’s fun, funny, and could be interesting and innovative, like old-fashioned or new [animation]…. Of course, I’d be happy to have a conversation [for a third film], it just depends on what Kathy and Bette want!” Hocus Pocus 2 broke streaming records for the Disney+ platform upon its debut…

Actor Barry Newman, best known for his roles as a man tasked with transporting a car from Denver to San Francisco in the 1971 cult classic Vanishing Point, and the titular defense attorney in the series Petrocelli, which ran for two seasons on NBC from 1974-76, has died, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He passed away May 11 from natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center, his wife Angela told the trade. He was 92. Newman’s work also included the movie City on Fire in 1979 and the TV series L.A. Law, Murder, She Wrote, The Fall Guy and The O.C., where he played Professor Max Bloom…

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.