As every Beetlejuice fan knows, the rule of threes is a big deal in the franchise. After popular goth stories made a comeback with The Sandman and Wednesday, it’s time to prove that the third time's the charm with the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 dark comedy, directed by Tim Burton. As filming has started on Beetlejuice 2, we’ll likely get some set photos to feed upon as we get hyped up, and the first batch already revealed Winona Ryder (Stranger Things) in character once again as Lydia Deetz.
Fortunately, it looks like Lydia didn’t let go of her gothic roots. Even better: she now looks cooler than ever, rocking eyeliner, pale make-up, pitch-black hair and dark clothes that we’re yet to get a full look at. In the scene that the camera captured, Lydia is inside a car and looking outside with a bit of contempt. In the first movie, Lydia was just a teenager, which makes it extra exciting to revisit her as a fully-grown woman and see where she is in life.
35 Years Later, Beetlejuice is Still Wildly Original
The return of Beetlejuice is highly anticipated by fans not only because of the nostalgia factor, but also because even though 35 years have gone by since it first premiered, the movie still retains a pretty distinct look and a daring concept which mixes dark humor with supernatural creatures, heavy-handed nonsense elements and a touch of ick factor – sometimes all of those at the same time.
Beetlejuice 2 is an event of a movie not only because of its style, but also because it brings together a team whose talent was essential to making the original story work. It has Michael Keaton (The Flash) reprising the title character after several decades; Winona Ryder again as a huge movie star, after becoming the target of the worst Hollywood executives and paparazzi can offer, and Tim Burton returning to form after a good few years away from a truly gothic-inspired feature film.
Aside from Ryder and Keaton, the cast of Beetlejuice 2 also features Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Monica Bellucci (Mafia Mamma), Justin Theroux (The Mosquito Coast) and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home). The screenplay is written by Mike Vukadinovich, who previously penned Kidding and Rememory.
Bettlejuice 2 is slated to premiere in theaters on September 6, 2024. You can get a bit nostalgic and remember the first movie by watching the trailer below: