Entertainment Weekly has published a first look for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and with it comes the first photos that show Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Winona Ryder (Lydia), and Catherine O’Hara (Delia) reprising their roles from the classic 1988 horror comedy film alongside franchise newcomers Justin Theroux and Jenna Ortega—the latter of whom plays Astrid, Lydia’s daughter. Tim Burton, who returned to direct the sequel, has remained tight-lipped about what the story is really about, but Keaton revealed in an interview on SiriusXM last week that fans should expect a “great” movie.
The photos:
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stars:
- Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice)
- Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz)
- Catherine O’Hara (Delia Deetz)
- Jenna Ortea (Astrid Deetz)
- Justin Theroux
- Monica Bellucci (Beetlejuice’s wife)
- Willem Dafoe
Burton told EW that:
- The sequel picks up decades later with a death in the family, revolving around Lydia and three generations of Deetz women.
- Beetlejuice and the Haunted Mansion, Beetlejuice Goes West, and Beetlejuice 2024 A.D. were some of the ideas that were floated around during the project’s long development.
- Stop-motion animation was used to bring a lot of the classic Beetlejuice effects to the screen.
- He didn’t initially (and still doesn’t) understand the success of the first film but ended up doing it after finding the right “emotional hook.”
- Keaton was able to slip right back into the iconic role, describing it as “sort of like demon possession.”
Keaton confirming that Beetlejuice 2 will be great, and how the film won’t be a CG fest:
- “I’ve seen it now. I’m going to see it again after a couple of little tweaks in the editing room, and I confidently say this thing is great.”
- “The [original] was so fun and exciting visually. [The sequel is] all that, but really beautiful and interestingly emotional here and there. I wasn’t ready for that. It’s great.”
- “The one thing that [Tim] and I decided on early, early, early on from the beginning, if we ever did it again, I was totally not interested in doing something where there was too much technology.”
- “It had to feel handmade. It’s the most exciting thing. When you get to do that again after years of standing in front of a giant screen, pretending somebody’s across the way from you…this is just enormous fun.”