Evan Rachel Wood has publicly called out her former Practical Magic colleagues for failing to contact her after she was replaced in the upcoming sequel.
Wood, 38, took to Instagram on Tuesday to praise Joey King, 27, for reaching out personally about taking over the role of Kylie Owens. The Westworld star revealed that King was the only person connected to the original 1998 film who bothered to get in touch.
“I really appreciated Joey King reaching out to me because no one who worked on the original film did. She’s a sweetheart,” Wood wrote on Instagram.
King had already shared details of their exchange with The Hollywood Reporter at the movie’s Los Angeles premiere. The Kissing Booth star described their conversation as “lovely” and expressed gratitude for Wood’s generosity toward the new cast.
“And I just was so appreciative of the support that she showed to me and to the rest of the cast. She is so talented and so beautiful and she made this role so special when she was a young girl,” King told the publication. “I feel so grateful to be able to play Kylie at this age but I love Evan so much and I’m so appreciative of her kind words and the exchange that her and I shared.”
Wood first disclosed her exclusion from Practical Magic 2 back in July 2025, posting a lengthy statement to her Instagram Story to quell mounting fan speculation.
“I am getting asked about this a lot, so l’ll just clear it up now; I was not asked to come back and be in the Practical Magic sequel,” she wrote at the time. “l offered my services, even if it was one scene or one line. I was told they are recasting. I am sorry to disappoint the fans.”
She continued: “It was not in my control or my choice. I would have happily rejoined my sisters.”
Wood later expanded on the situation during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, suggesting creative decisions drove the recasting rather than narrative necessity from Alice Hoffman’s source novel.
“I read the book and it seems like they’re not following the book,” she claimed. “I think in the book it would have made sense to bring me back; I think in the way they’re redoing it and approaching it, it didn’t make sense.”
Wood’s replacement isn’t the only casting shakeup. Alexandra Artrip, who played her on-screen sister Antonia Owens in the original, has also been cut, with Game of Thrones alum Maisie Williams stepping into that role.
Director Susanne Bier defended the decisions to The Hollywood Reporter at the LA premiere, framing them as age-appropriate choices for the sequel’s story.
“In the story, they’re just, like, literally out of college, and with Joey and Maisie it just felt completely right,” Bier explained to the publication.
Despite the original child stars being sidelined, several legacy cast members are returning. Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman will reprise their roles as the Owens sisters, while Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing are back as the eccentric witch aunts.
Wood originally played Kylie Owens at age eleven in the 1998 fantasy romance, which followed two sisters raised by their quirky aunts after their parents died from a family curse. The film became a cult favorite despite mixed reviews and modest box office returns at the time of release.
Practical Magic 2 premieres in theaters this fall.