The Ghost with the Most returns to theaters this weekend for Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice after 36 years of waiting in the Neitherworld Waiting Room! Fans of Michael Keaton’s corpse-like con man are dying to see for themselves what Beetlejuice and his co-stars have cooked up for the long-gestating sequel, with Winona Ryder returning as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz for another paranormal soiree.
Jenna Ortega joins the cast as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, with Justin Theroux playing Rory, Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, Monica Belluci as Delores, and Arthur Conti as Jeremy. The sequel begins with the surviving Deetz family returning to Winter River after a tragedy. Discovering the house is still haunted by Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), Lydia’s life gets turned upside down when Astrid accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife. With no choice but to enlist Beetlejuice to help rescue Astrid from the Neitherworld, Lydia and “Beej,” as she’s prone to call him, team up for an unforgettable trip into the Great Beyond.
Despite appearing in Burton’s original film for only 17 minutes, Beetlejuice is a significant figure in pop culture, with fans carrying a torch for the demonic delinquent for over three decades. Beetlejuice and Lydia’s costumes are best-sellers every year at Spirit Halloween, and the couple even shows up during Halloween Horror Nights and at various cons throughout the year.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is already off to a great start at the box office with $12M+ in preview screenings. Analysts expect the sequel to rise to the top of the box office during the film’s opening weekend, kicking this crispy September off with a bang. Fans might as well enjoy their time with Beetlejuice and the gang while they can, as Burton doubts he’ll return to the franchise again.
While speaking with THR during the London premiere, the outlet asked Tim Burton about a possible Beetlejuice 3. “Well, if [the same] time frame goes on, I’ll be about 100,” Burton said. “So maybe. I doubt it.” As for why now was the right time for a Beetlejuice sequel, Burton explained that it all came down to Winona Ryder’s character. “Well, because the Lydia character (Ryder) interested me,” Burton said. “Getting older is where you start thinking about what happens in life. [She] starts as a cool teenager. Relationships… Do you have kids? What are they like? What do you like? How do you change? These are all things that I know and experience. So it felt more right to make this now, rather than back in, like, 1989.”
Producer Tommy Harper also recently said they have yet to discuss another sequel. “We haven’t talked about where it could go from here, we just talked about making one really good movie,” Harper said. “Make it the best you can, and then anything could happen.”
Have you seen Beetlejuice Beetlejuice yet? What did you think? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, and please keep the spoilers to a minimum or give readers a decent heads-up if you choose to go into vivid detail.
To find out what we thought about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, check out our full review here! Thanks, and enjoy your weekend!
