Practical Magic 2 is out next weekend. It’s based on the fourth book in Alice Hoffman’s series, The Book of Magic, which takes place when Sally Owens’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia, are in their early 20s. Last year, Evan Rachel Wood, 38, who played a young Kylie in the original, revealed that she’d offered to return but was told that Kylie and Antonia were being recast. Joey King and Maisie Williams were ultimately cast in those roles.
In late July, Evan told Entertainment Tonight that it didn’t make sense for her to be recast given the plot of The Book of Magic. When asked at the LA premiere about replacing ERW, Joey revealed that she’d reached out to Evan and praised her talent. Evan must have seen the interview, because she posted to her Instagram Stories that they’d been in contact. Evan also noted that Joey was the only person from PM2 who had contacted her. From Us Weekly:
Evan Rachel Wood threw shade at the Practical Magic cast and crew after being replaced by Joey King in the film’s sequel.
“I really appreciated Joey King reaching out to me because no one who worked on the original film did. She’s a sweetheart,” Wood, 38, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, September 1.
The jab comes after Wood’s 1998 role as Kylie Owens, one of Sandra Bullock’s character Sally Owens’ daughters, was recast with King, 27, replacing her in the upcoming Practical Magic 2…
The sequel’s director, Susanne Bier, told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday that a recasting was necessary due to creating a “certain age group” in the sequel. She told the outlet, “In the story, they’re just, like, literally out of college, and with Joey and Maisie it just felt completely right.”
Along with Bullock and Kidman, 59, who are reprising their original roles, Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing are back as the witchy aunts of the leads’ sibling characters.
It was classy of Joey to reach out to Evan, especially given how vocal ERW was about wanting to be a part of PM2. It’s nice to hear that there are no hard feelings on that front. Nicole or Sandra reaching out to smooth things over would have been a simple gesture that could have gone a long way. It’s a bummer to hear that they didn’t.
I understand Evan’s feelings on being left out. For what it’s worth, I believe the explanation about the recasting not being personal. Because of the source material, Aidan Quinn was not asked back either. The age thing still sucks, though. It would have been great if Evan and Alexandra Artrip had shown up at one of the premieres for a photo op. Fans would have loved to get a picture of the OG and new Owens daughters together.
Photos credit: Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon
