(Updated 06/13/2024)
Say his name three times, and he appears. Evidently Tim Burton said "Beetlejuice" three times because Michael Keaton's lecherous ghostly alter-ego is coming back to movie theaters. The title of the sequel even references that gag from the original movie. BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE reunites the original cast for a long-awaited sequel to Burton's 1988 comedy classic.
Furthermore, Burton brings his "Wednesday" star Jenna Ortega along for the BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE ride as the daughter of Winona Ryder's character, Lydia Deetz. The movie is almost ready for release and we have a new trailer, so read on and we'll tell you everything you need to know about BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE.
What's the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Release Date?
Warner Bros. Pictures will release BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE exclusively in movie theaters on September 6, 2024.
Watch the New Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Trailer
The BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE trailer is here, and it looks like as close a follow-up to the original movie as we could imagine. The sandworms aren't DUNE-style CG; they're the same claymation style we saw with BEETLEJUICE arrived so many years ago.
Which Original Cast Members Are in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?
Three key original cast members are back in character for BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE. There's Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse, aka Beetlejuice. Winona Ryder returns to play Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O'Hara is back as her mother, Delia Deetz.
There may be a few more announcements — some characters seen in the afterlife might be back, for example. Glen Shadix, who played Otho, passed in 2010. Given their legal issues, we probably won't see Alec Baldwin or Jeffrey Jones. There's a chance that Geena Davis might appear, at least as a cameo, but so far she has not been announced as part of the cast.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Who's New in the Cast?
Jenna Ortega, who played Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton's Netflix series "Wednesday," plays Lydia Deetz's daughter, Astrid. And Beetlejuice has taken a bride since we last saw him; she's played by Monica Bellucci. (Who Burton also happens to be romantically linked to right now.)
Justin Theroux plays Astrid's father; Willem Dafoe plays undead detective Wolf Jackson; and Burn Gorman plays a man of the cloth. Danny DeVito, Arthur Conti and Filipe Cates also have roles, but we have even fewer details about their parts right now.
What's Beetlejuice Beetlejuice About?
The trailer outlines the plot of BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, but we can recap here, too. It's been thirty-six years since we saw the characters, both in real life and in movie time. When a family tragedy brings the Deetz family back to the small town of Winter River, Astrid Deetz discovers the model of the town kept in the attic. That leads to her introduction to Beetlejuice, and a whole host of problems.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Filmed in the Same Small Town as the Original
In the original BEETLEJUICE, the Maitland and Deetz families lived in a small, picturesque Connecticut town. The filming location was East Corinth, Vermont. For the sequel, Burton brought his crew back to East Corinth, which remains tiny with a population of just over 500 people. So the outdoor scenes in BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE will look just like those of the original.
The Long Development History of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Burton first commissioned a script for a BEETLEJUICE sequel back in 1990, just after the original was released. There have been multiple other efforts to produce a sequel since then, driven in part by Michael Keaton, who has long wanted to play the title role again.
In the 2010s, Burton collaborated with Seth Grahame-Smith (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES) on several projects. One was a BEETLEJUICE sequel script that came close to getting made. It seemed like the movie was set to go with Burton, Ryder and Keaton all returning, but then the project fell apart.
Now, it seems like Burton's work on "Wednesday" led directly to BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE. Not only is there the involvement of Jenna Ortega in both projects, but this movie sequel was written by "Smallville" and "Wednesday" creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar.
The Team Behind Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Clearly, Tim Burton is a driving force here. Danny Elfman will do the score, continuing his work from the original movie. And while costume designer Colleen Atwood is not a veteran of the 1988 BEETLEJUICE, she and Burton have worked together for many years, beginning on 1990's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opens on September 6.
All images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.