Joey King has revealed what happened when she spoke with Evan Rachel Wood after taking over the role of Kylie Owens in Practical Magic 2, while director Susanne Bier has explained why the sequel needed a new generation of actresses.
Fans returning to the world of Practical Magic are getting a familiar story with a significantly different generation of Owens women.
Practical Magic 2, arriving 25 years after the original 1998 film, brings back Sandra Bullock as Sally Owens and Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens. But the actresses who originally played Sally’s daughters are not returning.
Instead, Joey King now plays Kylie Owens, while Maisie Williams takes over the role of Antonia Owens.
That casting change had already attracted attention because Evan Rachel Wood, who played Kylie in the original movie, previously revealed that she had not been invited back.
Now, King has revealed that she and Wood eventually had a positive conversation about the recasting — while director Susanne Bier has offered a clearer explanation for why the production moved in a different direction.
Joey King says Evan Rachel Wood was supportive
Speaking at the Los Angeles premiere of Practical Magic 2, King addressed her conversation with Wood after Wood publicly discussed not returning to the sequel.
King said the two had a “lovely conversation” and expressed appreciation for Wood’s support of her and the rest of the cast.
For King, taking over Kylie was also a chance to step into a role that Wood had helped establish decades earlier.
She praised Wood’s work in the original film and said she felt grateful to play Kylie at this point in the character’s life.
The exchange appears to have helped separate the casting decision from any personal tension surrounding it. Wood had previously made clear that returning was something she would have welcomed.
Why was Evan Rachel Wood not in Practical Magic 2?
The explanation from director Susanne Bier is essentially about the story’s timeline.
The sequel is set 25 years after the events of the original movie, but Kylie and Antonia are written as young women who are just out of college.
Bier explained that the characters needed to fall within a particular age group, making the recasting necessary for the story.
In other words, the filmmakers were not simply replacing Wood because they wanted different actresses. The ages of the characters in the new story dictated the casting.
Bier described the decision as not being personal and said that, with King and Williams, the casting felt right for the characters the sequel needed.
Evan Rachel Wood had already explained her side
Wood previously spoke publicly about the decision after fans questioned whether she would return as Kylie.
She said she had offered to participate, even if her involvement amounted to only a single scene or line, but was told that the role was being recast.
Wood emphasized that the decision was not hers and that she would have happily reunited with the actresses who played her family.
Later, she explained that she was disappointed because the original cast had formed a strong bond while making the first film.
Wood also suggested that the sequel’s approach to the source material may have influenced why her return did not happen.
After reading Alice Hoffman’s The Book of Magic, the 2021 novel that serves as the basis for the sequel, Wood said it appeared that the movie was not following the book closely enough for her return to make sense in the same way.
At the same time, she wished King well in taking over Kylie.
What happens to Kylie in Practical Magic 2?
Kylie is no longer simply the child audiences remember from the first movie.
In the sequel, she has a substantially larger role as the story moves into the next generation of the Owens family.
Kylie begins discovering hidden family secrets and develops dark abilities of her own. Her story ultimately brings the Owens women back together as they confront the curse that has continued to affect their family.
Bullock and Kidman return as Sally and Gillian, while Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing reprise their roles as the sisters’ witchy aunts.
That gives Practical Magic 2 a combination of returning characters and a younger generation taking the story forward.
Practical Magic 2 is based on Alice Hoffman’s book
The sequel isn’t simply a continuation invented independently from the original film.
It draws from Alice Hoffman’s 2021 novel The Book of Magic, which expands the Owens family’s story.
Nicole Kidman explained that adapting the book involved deciding which elements could realistically fit into a feature film.
The filmmakers had to select from the novel’s material rather than attempt to reproduce everything on screen.
That also helps explain why the sequel’s story can differ from what fans of the book might expect.
Why did Practical Magic finally get a sequel?
The original Practical Magic was not an immediate blockbuster when it was released in 1998.
Over time, however, it developed a strong cult following.
Sandra Bullock said the idea of making another movie became increasingly difficult to ignore as fan demand grew louder on social media.
The sequel also required several pieces to fall into place, including finding the right production window, determining the budget, finding the right writer and assembling the creative team.
Akiva Goldsman eventually came on board to write the sequel.
Producer Denise Di Novi, who also worked on the original movie, said fan enthusiasm eventually reached a point where making another film became difficult to resist.
What happened to Gary in Practical Magic 2?
One of the biggest questions surrounding the sequel concerns Sally’s relationship with Officer Gary Hallet, played by Aidan Quinn in the original film.
The first movie appeared to leave Sally and Gary with a happy future after the curse was seemingly dealt with.
But the sequel takes a much darker approach.
Producer Denise Di Novi confirmed that Gary has died.
According to her explanation, Gary died because of the curse. The family had believed the curse was gone, but it had not actually been completely resolved.
The revelation adds another major consequence to the Owens family’s supernatural history and becomes something audiences will have to understand through the sequel.
Could there be a Practical Magic 3?
There is already some optimism about another chapter.
Di Novi indicated that the filmmakers would like the story to continue and encouraged fans to support the movie.
Whether a third film happens will ultimately depend on the sequel’s reception and performance, but the producers have not closed the door on returning to the Owens family again.
When does Practical Magic 2 come out?
Practical Magic 2 is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on September 11, 2026.
The sequel reunites Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman while introducing Joey King and Maisie Williams as the next generation of Owens women.
For fans, one of the most intriguing parts of the movie is therefore not simply the return of the original witches, but how the story passes the supernatural legacy to Kylie and Antonia.
And while Evan Rachel Wood will not appear as the adult Kylie, her connection to the character remains part of the movie’s unusual casting story — particularly now that King has revealed the two actresses were able to have a warm conversation about the transition.
Bottom Line
The Practical Magic 2 recasting was not presented by the filmmakers as a dispute with Evan Rachel Wood. The central reason was the age of Kylie and Antonia in the new story: the characters are written as young women just out of college.
Wood had said she wanted to return, even offering to appear in a very small role, but the production ultimately chose Joey King and Maisie Williams.
King’s newly revealed conversation with Wood adds a more positive dimension to what could otherwise have been a contentious Hollywood recasting story.
With the Owens family back on screen, a continuing curse, newly developing powers and the possibility of another sequel, Practical Magic 2 is setting up a new chapter while deliberately holding on to the nostalgia that made the original a cult favorite.
