Joey King Responds to Practical Magic 2 Casting Backlash: ‘I Know It’s Hard’

Instead of ignoring the criticism, King responded directly.

The actress explained that she is a huge fan of the original Practical Magic herself and described joining the sequel as a genuine honour.

She also acknowledged why fans can sometimes be wary when Hollywood returns to movies they have loved for decades.

King wrote that she knows "it's hard sometimes when legacy sequels are made", particularly when casting doesn't match what some viewers had imagined.

Her request was fairly simple: give the movie a chance.

King asked the critic to "open your mind a little" and see the enthusiasm she brought to the role.

Given how quickly online conversations can turn ugly, it was a surprisingly measured response.

King isn't simply appearing as another witch somewhere around the edges of the sequel.

She's part of the Owens family.

King plays Kylie Owens, the daughter of Sandra Bullock's Sally Owens, while Maisie Williams joins the film as her sister Antonia.

That places the next generation of the family right at the centre of the story.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are both returning as Sally and Gillian Owens, while Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are also back as Frances and Jet.

The new cast additionally includes Lee Pace, Xolo Maridueña and Solly McLeod.

For a sequel arriving nearly three decades after the original, that's a pretty significant mixture of old and new.

You can understand why casting decisions around Practical Magic 2 provoke such strong reactions.

The original movie has developed an enormous following since its release in 1998.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's Sally and Gillian Owens became characters audiences returned to long after the movie left cinemas, while the mixture of romance, witchcraft, family drama and autumnal atmosphere helped Practical Magic grow into a genuine cult favourite.

That also creates a problem for any sequel.

When people have spent almost 30 years loving a movie, they inevitably build their own idea of what a continuation should look like.

New actors aren't simply joining another Hollywood production.

They're stepping into somebody's favourite film.

King clearly understands that.

The exchange ended unexpectedly.

After King responded personally, the TikTok user who originally criticised her casting changed their tune.

The original post was deleted, and a follow-up appeared praising King's involvement in the sequel, with the user even promising to buy two tickets as part of their apology.

It's a surprisingly wholesome conclusion to something that could very easily have become another pointless internet pile-on.

And perhaps King's response worked because she didn't pretend fans shouldn't care.

She recognised that people are protective of legacy movies while also asking them to judge what she has actually done with the character.

That seems fair enough to us.

One reassuring thing about everything we've seen from Practical Magic 2 is that this isn't being positioned as a replacement for the original.

Bullock and Kidman are back.

Channing and Wiest are back.

The Owens family remains at the heart of the story.

The difference is that another generation is now becoming part of it.

The sequel follows the family as they confront another threat connected to their ancestry and the magical curse that has followed the Owens women for generations.

Kylie discovering her own abilities naturally brings King's character directly into that mythology.

So while some fans may have reservations about the newcomers, this still seems intended as a continuation rather than a reinvention.

We're protective of old movies too.

A big part of Please Rewind exists because films from decades ago still get us talking today.

And yes, legacy sequels can go horribly wrong.

But criticising Joey King before most audiences have even seen what she's done with Kylie feels a little premature.

The important thing isn't whether every casting decision matches the version of Practical Magic 2 somebody imagined in their head.

It's whether the sequel understands why people fell in love with the Owens family in the first place.

Having Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest returning certainly helps.

And King being a genuine fan of the original isn't a bad starting point either.

We'll find out soon enough whether the magic is still there.

Until then, we're willing to give the new Owens generation a chance.

Practical Magic 2 is scheduled to arrive in cinemas in September 2026.