Practical Magic Producer Says Sequel Will 'Honor' Original but Not 'Reinvent the Wheel' (Exclusive)

Practical Magic 2 will continue to spellbind.

Denise Di Novi — a veteran film producer who worked on 1998's Practical Magic and will co-produce the upcoming sequel alongside stars Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock — recently spoke with PEOPLE about the forthcoming film, explaining that it will aim to keep the spirit of the original while offering something new for fans.

"I think the big mistake people make with sequels is when they kind of want to reinvent the wheel and be totally original and surprise people that it's different or whatever," says Di Novi, 68.

She explains that the team behind the new film "gets how important the first movie is to so many people, women in particular, and we want to honor that for sure."

"There's a joyousness to that movie, and there's such beautiful themes of sisterhood and family and acceptance, tolerance, love," Di Novi continues. "Just the title that Alice Hoffman, the amazing author, thought of that's now become part of the vernacular of Practical Magic is that there's magic in daily life, in love, in family, in sisterhood. It's magical, and we all have our gifts, and women have very particular and specific gifts. We really want to honor all of that."

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The original movie, based on Hoffman's 1995 novel of the same name, stars Kidman and Bullock as the Owens sisters, a pair of witches fighting off a curse that kills the men they fall in love with.

Both Bullock, 60, and Kidman, 57, confirmed in June that they were returning to star in Practical Magic 2 as Sally and Gillian, respectively.

"Yes, I will be in it. And Sandy will be in it. And that's that," Kidman told PEOPLE at the time. "There's a lot more to tell which is why we go, 'Okay, this is kind of interesting now to be able to do this.' "

Added the Academy Award winner, "[We] found a way in."

Both actresses will also produce alongside Di Novi, while A Beautiful Mind’s Akiva Goldsman has been tapped to write the screenplay. Di Novi previously told Entertainment Weekly that the plot of the sequel will adapt The Book of Magic, Hoffman's 2021 follow-up novel that serves as the fourth in the Practical Magic book series.

Di Novi says the production team is "on a fast track" to getting Practical Magic 2 made, and "hope(s) to be shooting the movie next year."

"The response on TikTok was unbelievable, and it's not quitting," she tells PEOPLE. "It was very touching to see how happy people were after Warner Brothers announced the movie."

Di Novi is also overjoyed to reunite with Kidman and Bullock, whom she says have "done the most amazing work in the last 25 years" since Practical Magic.

"Their careers have been so incredible, and just to have them back together again is a dream come true," she adds.