In 1988, Tim Burton unleashed the ghost with the most onto the world with “Beetlejuice.” Almost 36 years later, he plans to do it again with the long-gestating sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Unlike many sequels done long after the fact, this project has most of the original cast back including Michael Keaton as the titular ghoul and Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz.
Both Keaton and Ryder have been gushing about their experience working on the film. Despite Keaton finding jumping back into the black and white striped suit a bit surreal at first. “There’s been so much merchandising of it, I had to drop back to where it started,” he told Empire. “I had to go, ‘What was my unusual imagination even thinking about when I was developing it in the first place?’ As opposed to seeing a coffee mug or a golf-club cover [adorned with Betelgeuse’s face].”
And he’s right, the fan following for “Beetlejuice” has only grown as the decades wear on. As we all know, where there is a large fandom, there is merchandise galore. “That was fucking weird,” Keaton adds. “To be honest with you – I’m being very frank – it was off-putting, to look and go, ‘I don’t want to look like all these little things, fuck that – what was the thing that started this?’”
Keaton’s Performance
Even with the jarring reality of hopping back into an over-30-year-old role, the actor didn’t miss a beat. “It was like he was possessed by a demon, because he just went right back into it,” Burton said. “It was insane,” adds Catherine O’Hara who is returning as the family matriarch Delia Deetz. “Insane.”
“It was like an animal with a gun had just walked into the room,” said incoming star Jenna Ortega. “To watch him physically change and appear and Michael Keaton to be gone, and for me to be dealing with this Betelgeuse guy… it blew my mind.”
“I love it,” Keaton exclaimed. “I absolutely love this thing. And I don’t [usually] talk like that. I unabashedly love this. It was not easy to pull off, and I think we did it in spades.” It’s showtime!
But he isn’t the only one on cloud nine about the return of Beetlejuice. Fellow veteran actor Winona Ryder is right there along with him. “I struggle to find the words,” she says. “It’s just one of the most special experiences that I’ve ever had. The fact that we’re coming back to it, it’s… It’s beyond.”
Ryder Revisiting Lydia
“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way,” Ryder adds. “This is a first for me. I’ve never revisited a character, ever.” Despite her only being 17 when the first film was released, Ryder delivered a truly memorable performance that most consider her big break. So we can only imagine how surreal it must be for her to come back to it after all this time.
Obviously, the character has grown up considerably from a moody teen dressed in over-the-top dark clothing. To an adult who also sports dark clothes, jagged bangs, and an inscrutable expression. Her character now has her own TV series, “Ghost House With Lydia Deetz,” and a daughter, Astrid (Ortega).
“I went through so many stages of, ‘Who is she now?’, but I always wanted to have it be Lydia. She can’t lose who she was,” Ryder explains. “She can’t be the same person, she can’t be just completely deadpan, she has to have evolved, but she also has to have kept that thing she had when we first met her. So that was the big challenge for me.”
“My lived experience, even though it’s very different… You know, you grow up, and things change,” Ryder continues. “Life happens.”
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hits theaters September 6th, 2024. You can check out the official trailer below:
