Disney Plus' Hocus Pocus 2 is finally here after a nearly 30-year wait, and it brought several familiar faces along with it. But aside from the beloved trio of evil witch sisters, it also saw the return of another fan-favorite in the form of Doug Jones as the gravelly-voiced and opinionated zombie, Billy Butcherson.
In the original 1993 cult classic Hocus Pocus, Jones appeared in heavy makeup as the long-dead former lover of Bette Midler's Winifred Sanderson. She cursed him to never feel true peace even in death, and even after seemingly returning to his grave at the end of the first film, it seems as though it didn't quite take. Disney Plus' Hocus Pocus 2 brings him back, and while he's a bit less agreeable this time around, he very much looks remarkably unchanged given the 29-year gap.
"I've been asked, in many interviews over the years, and I've been acting for 36 years now, is there any one character I've played that I would love to revisit again?" Jones said in an interview with Collider. "And Billy Butcherson was always my number one answer... Billy was a character that was human-ish, with humor, goofiness, fun, and a family-friendly vibe, who was headed toward a happy ending. All of that made going into work a joy. I thought, 'I wanna do that again.' So, when that call came, I was excited to get to do all of that again."
Jones went on to detail his utter delight at performing once again with the legendary actresses behind the Sanderson sisters. "I got to reunite with Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, which was so dreamy. The difference between 30 years, working with them, is that I was starstruck the first time," Jones continued. "Coming back, you never lose your starstruck-ness, really, or I don't. I was still like, 'Oh, my gosh, there they are again.'"
As much as things may have changed over the years, neither Billy's look or the makeup process are among those differences, it seems. Billy looks almost identical to how he looked in the original 1993 film thanks to the heavy prosthetics worn by Jones. But it seems as though the application of so much makeup hasn't seen many updates since then. "Technology and processes have improved," Jones explained when asked whether the process had gotten quicker this time around, "but when you're gluing something to someone's face, you're gluing something to someone's face, whether it's 1993 or 2022."
Hocus Pocus 2 seems to be a worthy successor, and the respect paid to the original is likely a big part of that. It's clear that Jones' reverence for his character and where he came from is shared by everyone else involved in the film, and that's about the best thing fans can ask for.
Hocus Pocus 2 is available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: Collider