EXCLUSIVE: Susanne Bier reveals why she said yes to Practical Magic 2: “I’d love to work with both of you again”

Director Susanne Bier is stepping into the world of Practical Magic 2 with a clear understanding of what makes the franchise special. For Bier, the opportunity was not simply about revisiting a beloved property, but about creating a big-screen experience rooted in relationships, female themes and emotion.

Recalling how she came on board, Bier revealed that the conversation began around Christmas 2024, when she received a call and spoke with stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. “I got a call around Christmas of ‘24. I spoke both to Sandy and to Nicole. “We have this project; it can be really fun. Do you want to read?” And I was like, “Sure, I’d love to read. I mean, I’d love to work with both of you again.” And doing a big, cinematic release that is female-driven and is about something that actually is very close to my heart just sounded incredibly tempting. What intrigued me in the first place was actually making a movie with substantial female themes while making something that is fun and sexy and evocative and sad and moving. I don’t even need to question that. That’s an obvious yes for me.”

The director was also conscious of the legacy of the 1998 original and the passionate following it developed over the years. Rather than attempting to simply recreate what worked nearly three decades ago, Bier wanted to understand how the story could resonate with audiences today.

“For me, the main thing is how do you take a story which became incredibly relevant 28 years ago? Because the first movie had an interesting trajectory. When it came out, it was a mystifying movie. And then it gained a huge following and fan base that was really adamant and really devoted.”

For Bier, the challenge was to bring magic into a contemporary cinematic landscape without allowing it to overshadow the people at the heart of the story. “And so, I think what was tricky was how do you merge? There have been a number of movies dealing with magical entities, and you have a whole generation of young women and men who have grown up seeing movies like Harry Potter. How do you tell a story today which has magic, but still stays true to being about human beings?”

She believes that distinction is central to what makes Practical Magic unique. “I mean, Practical Magic is much more about human relation than it actually is about magic. But magic is a fundamental core of it, and the magic serves the human purpose.”

For Bier, that combination made returning to the franchise an opportunity she could not resist.

The post EXCLUSIVE: Susanne Bier reveals why she said yes to Practical Magic 2: “I’d love to work with both of you again” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.

from Bollywood Hungama https://ift.tt/uPNFLwl