Hocus Pocus 2 ending explained: Billy's final fate revealed

Hocus Pocus 2 came nearly three decades after the first film, Hocus Pocus (1993), and is the second entry in the franchise. This Anne Fletcher-directed fantasy comedy movie is produced by Jen D'Angelo, while Lynn Harris is the producer. It was released on September 30, 2022, on Disney+. Here's the official synopsis as per Letterboxd:

29 years since the Black Flame Candle was last lit, the 17th-century Sanderson sisters are resurrected, and they are looking for revenge. Now it’s up to three high school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow’s Eve.

Let's explore how the film ends and what happens to Billy.

How does Hocus Pocus 2 end?

A still from Hocus Pocus 2 | Image via Disney

Hocus Pocus 2 reaches its climax, where we see the girls go to a house that belongs to Traske. There, they reach a house that belongs to Traske, where they meet and warn the mayor. Later, the girls are trying to find the whereabouts of the mayor. As the film moves towards its ending, the three girls eventually have a reunion, and they head for an escape.

Cassie is eventually kidnapped by the sisters as they intend to use her blood. All of them go into the forest while Izzy and Becca follow their footsteps inside the forest. Gilbert is seen mixing all the elements and realizes that Becca is also a witch, like the other sisters.

Subsequently, Cassie is saved by Izzy, and Becca moves to the forest with Book. All the girls then agree that they need to put out a warning to Winifred regarding the spell. However, by that time, Winifred had already become powerful. Both Sarah and Mary disappear into dust particles. The girls try to save their sisters but are unable to. But a reuniting spell is cast by the trio. This leads Winifred to also fade away.

Billy and Gilbert rejoin the girls later in Hocus Pocus 2, but then Billy Butcherson also fades away. The girls then move to the road as a crow flies over their heads. The ending makes it clear that Billy's soul is set free when he becomes dust. This signifies that the powers the sisters possessed do not exist. But there is still a question about whether he died or not.

A possible reason for that might be the lie that he spread about being Winifred's love interest. But after Gilbert's advice, he wanted to clear his name of this lie and move into the afterlife world. The first film also showed a similar death happening to Thackery Binx.

Hocus Pocus 2 ending sets up the world for Hocus Pocus 3

In the last scene of Hocus Pocus 2, the trio of Cassie, Izzy, and Becca can be seen walking towards home after putting up a fight with the Sandersons. As mentioned above, the bird that flies above them is identical to Witch Mother when she was overlooking Salem.

This means that she is still alive and might appear as the main antagonist in the forthcoming installment, Hocus Pocus 3. It also cements that the Witch has been alive for several centuries. The post-credit sequence also showcases a candle with a black flame, suggesting that the sisters might be brought back to tackle Witch Mother.