A new “Beetlejuice” chapter from Tim Burton is on the way, with “Wednesday” breakout Jenna Ortega joining stars from the original horror comedy.
The film is a sequel to Burton’s 1988 classic about a family in their new home and the married ghost couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) trying to dispel them. The family’s curious goth teenage daughter, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), is the only human able to see the ghosts. After befriending them, Lydia soon finds herself mixed up in horrors and complexities of the afterlife.
In 2013, Ryder addressed the possibility of a “Beetlejuice 2.” She told the Daily Beast, “It’s not a remake. It’s 27 years later. And I have to say, I love Lydia so much. She was such a huge part of me. I would be really interested in what she is doing 27 years later.”
Ten years later, the sequel is finally happening — though many details are being kept under wraps. Here is what we do know so far about “Beetlejuice 2.”
Ortega will play the daughter of Ryder’s Lydia Deetz
Jenna Ortega is set to play the daughter of Lydia Deetz. The 20-year-old recently joined Burton’s oeuvre as the star of his Netflix series “Wednesday,” where she played the title character, Wednesday Addams.
Reprising their original “Beetlejuice” roles are Ryder as Lydia Deetz, Catherine O’Hara as Lydia’s mother Delia Deetz and Michael Keaton as the incessant and destructive “bio-exorcist” Betelgeuse. Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci will be joining the cast as well. Dafoe is said to be playing a “law enforcement officer in the afterlife,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Theroux and Bellucci’s roles have yet to be announced.
The screenplay is written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who also penned “Wednesday.” The film is produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B.
Betelgeuse is getting some new stripes
Colleen Atwood, the award-winning costumer who previously worked with Burton on “Edward Scissorhands” and “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” will be the costume designer of the film. Costumes in the original “Beetlejuice” were designed by Aggie Gerard Rodgers, who gave Betelgeuse his decayed but bespoke black-and-white striped suit.
When will the ghost with the most return?
“Beetlejuice 2” is set to premiere on Sept. 6, 2024, Warner Bros. announced on May 9. This coincides with the release of Marvel’s “Blade.” Production for “Beetlejuice 2” commenced on May 10 in London.
