As Warner Bros. prepares to release Practical Magic 2 in theaters on September 11, one conspicuously absent face from the sequel’s newly released trailer has reignited fan frustration: Aidan Quinn, who played state investigator Gary Hallet in the beloved 1998 original. Quinn confirmed in a red carpet conversation with Irish radio station SPIN 1038 that he was simply never approached. “No, I wasn’t asked. I would have said yes, but I wasn’t asked. Of course I would,” he said plainly.
Sandra Bullock offered a knowing, if cryptic, explanation when she and co-star Nicole Kidman took the stage at the CinemaCon industry showcase in Las Vegas on April 14. Bullock confirmed her character Sally was single again, quipping, “If you know the original film, you can probably guess why.” The implication is blunt: the Owens curse, which condemns any man who loves one of the witchy sisters to a gruesome death, appears to have claimed Gary between films.
In the sequel’s trailer, Bullock’s Sally tells a new mysterious figure, played by Lee Pace, “Everyone we love dies,” with Kidman’s Gillian adding dryly that it’s “not great for the Tinder bio.” The first film seemed to leave Sally and Gary on the cusp of a happy ending, making his apparent fate all the more pointed.
Quinn has no bitterness about the experience. He recalled the original shoot warmly, describing his co-stars as “phenomenal” and the production as a genuinely good time. “Most of my stuff was with Sandy, but they were both great to work with,” he said. Fans, however, have been less restrained — reader comments on entertainment sites have declared Quinn’s absence a missed opportunity, with some vowing to skip the sequel entirely.
Directed by Susanne Bier and written by Akiva Goldsman — who co-wrote the original — alongside Succession writer Georgia Pritchett, the sequel adapts Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic, the fourth entry in her Practical Magic series. Returning alongside Bullock and Kidman are Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest as aunts Frances and Jet, while new additions include Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña, Solly McLeod, and Joey King.
The original film was no box-office triumph — it earned $68.3 million worldwide against a reported $75 million budget and landed a 27% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes — yet it grew into a durable cult classic over the following decades. Multiple attempts to revisit the property failed, including a 2004 TV pilot executive-produced by Bullock herself, a 2010 ABC Family remake attempt, and a 2019 HBO pilot order that never materialized.
At CinemaCon, Bullock described returning to the project as coming back “to a home that we once lived in,” confirming the production rebuilt the original clifftop house as a practical set to ground the cast in the story’s world. The film marks Bullock’s first screen appearance since 2022’s The Lost City and Bullet Train.
For Quinn, the door remains open — at least in spirit. When the interviewer suggested lobbying Kidman on his behalf, he smiled and noted the film was already done. The curse, it appears, had the final word.
