Beetlejuice is ready to haunt a new generation.
For sequel film “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the titular undead figure played by Michael Keaton continues to stalk his favorite family, led by matriarch Catherine O’Hara, daughter Winona Ryder, and now, granddaughter Jenna Ortega. The “Wednesday” breakout star continues her collaborations with “Beetlejuice” director Tim Burton, who also helms the “Addams Family” spinoff Netflix series.
Burton directs “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” from a script written by Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg, Michael McDowel, Mike Vukadinovich, and Larry Wilson. In addition to Ortega, new franchise cast members include characters played by Monica Bellucci, Justin Theroux, and Willem Dafoe, who teased his role is that of a dead B-movie action star turned detective in the afterlife.
The Warner Bros. release comes more than 40 years after the original 1988 horror-comedy classic. Lead star Keaton teased that “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is a “beautiful” film due to its practical effects to People magazine.
“It’s the most fun I’ve had on set in a long time. On one hand, you’d go, ‘Well, of course it’s the most fun. It looks like fun.’ As you know, it doesn’t always work like that,” Keaton said. “The one thing that he 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.”
However, Keaton admitted 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.’”
Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment produces the sequel along with KatzSmith Productions and Tim Burton Productions.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” premieres September 6 in theaters. Check out the trailer below.
