35 years later, Beetlejuice is getting a sequel. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Pictures released the official trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which sees the return of some of the key cast members from the original movie, including Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz.
They are joined by new cast members Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia Deetz’s daughter Astrid, Justin Theroux (The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre), Arthur Conti (feature film debut), and Willem Dafoe (Poor Things).
According to the synopsis, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice picks up years after the first movie following the death of Lydia’s father, Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones). The Deetz family has returned home to Winter River, and Lydia’s rebellious daughter, Astrid, ends up finding the model of the town in the attic. Her mother pleads with her not to say Beetlejuice’s name three times, but she refuses to listen, thus summoning the demon back to our planet once again.
Based on the trailer, there will be more than a few familiar faces and creatures from the first movie once the portal to the afterlife opens up. There was definitely a sandworm in the trailer (what perfect timing with Dune: Part Two just hitting Max).
It’s going to be difficult to capture the madcap magic of the 1989 original, as evidenced by the rather lackluster response to the new Ghostbusters movies. Nevertheless, with the talent in front of and behind the camera, this unexpected sequel has the potential to surprise us and perhaps win over some new fans that never saw the first movie.
Tim Burton is back as director, while Alfred Gough and Miles Millar wrote the script based on a story by Gough, Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is scheduled to release in theaters on September 6, 2024.