Lee Pace has shared a candid behind-the-scenes story from his very first day on the Practical Magic 2 set. The actor revealed that his opening scene required him to lie completely naked on a bed while Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman walked into the room to perform a magical ritual. The scene, which serves as the audience’s introduction to his character Ian Wright, turned out to be a memorable acting challenge for reasons beyond the lack of wardrobe.
Lee Pace’s First Practical Magic 2 Scene Had No Wardrobe
In a new interview with Variety, Lee Pace explained that the first scene he shot for Practical Magic 2 involved lying in bed with no clothes on. His character, Ian Wright, is under the effects of a curse that leaves him immobilized. When Sandra Bullock‘s Sally Owens and Nicole Kidman‘s Gillian Owens arrive at his home in England to seek his help, they find him frozen in bed.
“I’m lying on this bed, naked,” Pace said with a laugh. “And the two of them come into the room and do some magic.”
The actor had to stay completely still while the two actresses worked around him. The challenge was not just physical but also personal. Pace is a longtime admirer of both Bullock and Kidman, which made the scene more difficult than a typical day at work.
“I’m laying there with my eyes closed, hearing their voices — their beautiful, distinctive voices,” Pace recalled. “And it was definitely a moment: Wow, this is going to happen.”
His eyes were supposed to remain closed throughout the sequence, but Pace admitted that staying still was harder than it sounds.
“It was impossible not to peek a little bit,” he said.
How Ian Wright Fits Into the Practical Magic 2 Story
Ian Wright is a professor of magic and a scholar of the craft who lives in England. The Owens sisters travel across the Atlantic to find him after Sally‘s daughter Kylie discovers the family’s love curse and runs away. The aunts, Jet and Frances, point Sally and Gillian toward Ian as someone who can help them break the curse once and for all.
When the sisters first arrive at his home, they find Ian cursed and frozen in bed. A voodoo doll can be seen nearby in the trailer, hinting at the dark magic that has been used against him. Gillian uses her powers to break the curse and wake him up. Once he is revived, Ian becomes a key ally in the sisters’ quest and a romantic interest for Sally.
Variety‘s review describes the dynamic between Sally and Ian as a “painfully high-stakes will-they-or-won’t-they” situation, since Sally‘s curse means any man she loves will die. Pace told TODAY that the relationship between the two characters is a “good flirt,” which gives audiences a sense of the playful energy they bring to the screen.
Practical Magic 2 Cast and Release Information
Practical Magic 2 brings back Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as the Owens sisters, nearly 28 years after the original 1998 film. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest return as Aunt Frances and Aunt Jet. New cast members include Joey King as Kylie, Maisie Williams as Antonia, Lee Pace as Ian Wright, Solly McLeod as Thomas Lockland, and Xolo Maridueña as Gideon.
Susanne Bier directed the sequel from a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, Georgia Pritchett, and Kelly Marcel. The film is based on Alice Hoffman‘s 2021 novel The Book of Magic and serves as a follow-up to the 1998 cult classic.
Practical Magic 2 opens in theaters on Friday, September 11, 2026, in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and India. Some international markets, including parts of Europe and Asia, will see the film debut on September 18, 2026. Australian audiences can watch it in cinemas from September 10, 2026. The film runs for approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Box Office and Streaming Details
Practical Magic 2 earned an estimated $3.5 million to $4 million in Thursday previews in North America. Box office projections place the film’s domestic opening weekend between $30 million and $40 million, with an international start of $18 million to $23 million across 77 territories. The expected global opening sits between $58 million and $63 million.
Streaming details have not been officially announced by Warner Bros. As a Warner Bros. Discovery release, the film is expected to arrive on HBO Max first. Based on the studio’s typical release windows, Practical Magic 2 could reach HBO Max between November 19 and December 9, 2026. The film may later appear on Netflix in the United States, following a similar pattern to other Warner Bros. titles.
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Fan Interest and Critical Response
Interest in Pace‘s role has been building since the trailer showed glimpses of his shirtless, tattooed character. Fan reactions online have focused on his physical presence in the film. One social media user wrote that Pace was “an entire snack,” while another noted that seeing him in the sequel was “one reason to see it.”
Critical response to the film has been mixed. Variety‘s review called it an “overlong, predictable sequel” that revisits what made the original beloved for some viewers but fails to fix the flaws that made others forget it. Time Out described it as “too polished” to achieve the original’s cult status, though it praised the female-fronted soundtrack featuring Stevie Nicks, Olivia Rodrigo, Dusty Springfield, and Lana Del Rey. The film currently holds a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on early reviews.
Practical Magic 2 is now playing in theaters worldwide.
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