First-look images at Tim Burton's Beetlejuice 2 (properly titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) have dropped. Fans can finally catch a glimpse of the returns of Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder in addition to newcomer Jenna Ortega.
Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, the Beetlejuice 2 first-look images have surfaced. The first image sees Keaton's return to the title role. Years after the events of the first film, Beetlejuice looks a little rougher as he wears his iconic (and somewhat tattered) suit and his makeup is somewhat fading. At least he maintained his hair!
A second image shows four of the film's characters attending a funeral. Delia Deetz (Catherine O'Hara), Astrid Deetz (Ortega), and Lydia Deetz (Ryder) stand with Rory, which confirms Justin Theroux's character's name.
What's Beetlejuice?
Beetlejuice was a 1988 film directed by Burton. It follows a recently deceased couple who discover they are trapped in their house as ghosts. They enlist the help of Betelgeuse (Keaton) to exorcise their demons.
The film was relatively successful. At the box office, it grossed nearly $75 million worldwide. It has also become a pop culture fixture, which expanded its iconic legacy. The film even won Best Makeup at the Oscars.
While it took over three decades to get a sequel film, a successful animated Beetlejuice series ran for four seasons and 94 episodes. Burton executive produced the series, which heavily focused on Lydia and Beetlejuice's exploration of the Netherworld. The series ran from 1989-91.
There was also a Broadway musical based on the film that closed in January 2023. Since then, a mobile iteration of the show has toured the United States.
What's Beetlejuice 2 about?
Per Entertainment Weekly's report, Burton will heavily focus on the Deetz family in the sequel. “I so identified with the Lydia character, but then you get to all these years later, and you take your own journey, going from cool teenager to lame adult, back and forth again,” Burton said. “That made it emotional, gave it a foundation. So that was the thing that really truly got me into it.”
It's unclear what else the plot revolves around.
When does it come out?
Warner Bros has slated Beetlejuice 2 for a September 6, 2024 release date.
Who's in it?
Of course, Michael Keaton stars in Beetlejuice 2. Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara also return from the original film. Jenna Ortega leads the list of newcomers to the franchise. Monica Bellucci plays Betelgeuse's wife in the film and Willem Dafoe plays a ghost detective who was a B-movie star in his heyday.
Justin Theroux, Arthur Conti, Burn Gorman, and Filipe Cates have also been cast in the film. As of the time of this writing, we only know the name of Theroux's character, Rory.
Tim Burton returned to direct the sequel. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar — who co-created the Ortega-led Wednesday for Netflix, which Burton produced — wrote the script.