Actor and The View host, Whoopi Goldberg, recently explained that Sister Act 3 would never have happened without Hocus Pocus 2. Released in 1992, the music-infused comedy stars Whoopi Goldberg as Delores Van Cartier a lounge singer who escapes to a San Francisco convent after witnessing a murder committed by her gangster lover, Vince LaRocca (Harvey Keitel). Assuming the name Sister Mary Clarence, she pretends to be a nun and joins the convent’s choir, transforming it into a local sensation through the use of religious covers of pop music. Sister Act proved popular with fans and a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, was rapidly produced and released the next year.
In 2018, Sister Act 3 was officially announced as in production with High School Musical: The Musical: The Series writer, Tom Federle, as director and Regina Y. Hicks and Karin Gist penning the screenplay. Last month, the upcoming film’s producer, Tyler Perry, lamented the long process of the Hollywood system but revealed that the current script is good. Goldberg previously teased her character’s growth in Sister Act 3, sharing that Delores had matured since audiences last saw her.
While on her daytime talk show, The View (via EW), Goldberg told her former Sister Act costar, Kathy Najimy, that Sister Act 3 would not have happened without Hocus Pocus 2. The actor revealed that she will finally be “getting a script at the end of the month,” and acknowledged Hocus Pocus 2, Najimy’s latest sequel released nearly 30 years after Hocus Pocus, as a reason for Sister Act 3‘s production. Read what Goldberg said below:
“It took a little while, but it’s happening. You all helped that happen, I think, because they brought Hocus Pocus back. They finally said, ‘We might as well put those nuns back out there and see if they have any juice.'”
Will Sister Act 3 Live Up To the Original?
Although the idea of Sister Act 3 was tossed around in Hollywood for years before Hocus Pocus 2‘s announcement, it was likely the positive fan response that helped producers realize that a second Sister Act sequel had potential. With the recent trend of legacy sequels of older popular films, including Terminator: Dark Fate, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Sister Act 3‘s chances of a greenlight seemed inevitable. However, whether the sequel will live up to the original film is up for debate.
As with most legacy sequels, including the aforementioned films, fan response has rarely matched the originals. With the exception of Top Gun: Maverick, a great deal of these types of movies have been subjected to harsh criticisms in regard to their reliance on nostalgia and current relevance. For Sister Act 3 to succeed, the upcoming film must take the franchise into new territory with character developments that will resonate with today’s audience. Unfortunately, with a script not yet in the hands of its star, audiences will have to wait a long time to see Goldberg don her habit one more time in Sister Act 3.
