Winona Ryder has been trying to get a “Beetlejuice” sequel made for decades by meeting with director Tim Burton.
Just like how lead star Michael Keaton and Burton were kicking around ideas for a follow-up film, Ryder told Harper’s Bazaar that she was working with Burton in secret to make sure a sequel was greenlit. Now, more than 40 years after the original 1988 horror-comedy classic, Ryder and Keaton are both reprising their respective roles for Burton in sequel film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
“There were a lot of times my agents didn’t know that I was meeting up with him,” Ryder said of coordinating with Burton.
As Harper’s Bazaar added, “In the intervening decades, though, Ryder and Burton kept in touch, meeting secretly to discuss making a second ‘Beetlejuice.’”
Burton told the outlet that there were numerous concepts for sequels across the years.
“‘Beetlejuice Goes to Outer Space,’ ‘Beetlejuice’ does whatever,” Burton said. “There’d been talk about it, but I never really understood why it was popular. And this was when people didn’t talk about sequels.”
Burton added of working with Ryder on the original film, “When I met Winona, she reminded me of how I felt as a teenager. And she’s got what I love with certain actors. She can say something with just her eyes. … There’s a soul coming out. So without dialogue, without anything, there’s something there. It’s why you make movies.”
Ryder played angsty teen Lydia Deetz who is haunted by Keaton’s titular ghoul.
“Tim’s a terrific caster,” Keaton said. “He doesn’t always get credit for that, but if you look through his films, he always casts really, really well, and that includes Winona.”
Franchise newcomer and “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” star Jenna Ortega also credited Ryder for assisting her during her own early fame from Burton’s “Wednesday” series.
“She definitely helped me feel less alone,” Ortega said, while Ryder is known for also supporting her “Stranger Things” teen co-stars. “It’s a very isolating experience and a scary one. Being able to speak to somebody who had witnessed that firsthand, maybe even more, was a great source of comfort for me, and I can’t thank her enough for that.”
The decision to formally greenlight “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” though, was a difficult one to make. Keaton previously admitted to People magazine that both he and Burton were “hesitant and cautious” about revisiting the film.
“We thought, ‘You got to get this right. Otherwise, just don’t do it. Let’s just go on with our lives and do other things,’” Keaton said. “So I was hesitant and cautious, and he was probably equally as hesitant and cautious over all these years. Once we got there, I said, ‘OK, let’s just go for it. Let’s just see if we can do it, if we can pull this off.’ […] It was the most fun I’ve had on set in a long time.”
