Nearly 30 years later, Practical Magic fans might need to do a double take when they see Sandra Bullock’s onscreen daughters.
Ahead of the release of Practical Magic 2, premiering Sept. 10 in theaters, former child actress Alexandra Artrip emphasized her social media is not “a space for negativity” around the recasting of her character Antonia Owens in the sequel with actress Maisie Williams.
“I love hearing your stories and connections to the film, but I get comments like this a lot, and I see them going on a lot of content around the sequel,” she said in a video, pointing out one comment questioning the casting choice. “And I think the sentiment is right, people are trying to show support for Evan and myself and the original film and everything it’s meant to so many people.”
Artrip continued, “But I just don’t want my stuff to be a space for negativity. Maisie and Joey are lovely actresses, and I’m sure the production team did what they thought was best for the film to be successful. … I just think we should support the film, give it a shot, go in with an open mind. Nothing can take away from what the original film was, and I’m excited that we’re able to build on that world with a new novel, new content in 2026, and that it’s given me a space to revisit all those beloved memories all these years later.”
With Williams and Joey King taking over the roles of sisters Antonia and Kylie in the sequel, Evan Rachel Wood has said that she’s “sad” not to return, recently voicing her disappointment that nobody from the original movie reached out about re-casting Kylie.
“I really appreciated Joey King reaching out to me, because no one who worked on the original film did,” said Wood on her Instagram Story. “She’s a sweetheart.”
Director Susanne Bier has said the casting choice “was not a personal thing,” adding, “The kids in the story are right out of college, so it wasn’t really a question. We had to recast.”
From a script by Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett and Kelly Marcel, based on Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic, Practical Magic 2 sees Sally (Bullock) and Gillian (Nicole Kidman) return to a world steeped in moonlit mischief and powerful ancestral magic, as the Owens sisters must confront the dark curse that threatens to unravel their family once and for all.
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