Few things have me more excited about 2024 than seeing Michael Keaton reprise one of his most iconic roles in Beetlejuice 2, which is officially called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Fans of Tim Burton movies – especially his extremely inventive cult horror-comedy movie – have wondered for years if “the ghost with the most” will ever be granted more screen time than his mere 17 minutes in the 1988 original.
The last several years have made it seem like it might take more than just saying his name three times to get Beetlejuice Beetlejuice out of the afterlife’s waiting room. However, we now know for sure that the sequel’s ongoing development hell is over. Let's go over everything we know about the upcoming horror movie, starting with when it will be haunting theaters.
What Is The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Release Date?
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is one of the most anticipated titles on our upcoming 2024 movie schedule at the moment. Warner Bros. has set September 6, 2024, as the sequel’s official release date.
The Juice Breaks Loose In The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Trailer
The first teaser trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice had fans floating over its clever Easter Eggs, choral reimagining of Harry Belafonte's "Day-O," and seeing Keaton in full costume uttering, “The Juice is loose.” The sequel’s first full-length trailer gave us more to be excited for, but the second official Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer is the craziest yet. See for yourself here:
Astrid plays a larger role in this new trailer than the last two and is revealed to have a major impact on the latest resurrection of Betelgeuse, who is also under heavy questioning by Wolf Jackson for his former spouse, who appears to have a kiss of death. It also looks like “the ghost with the most” has even more friends with shrunken heads and more mischievous abilities to boast. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the inside look at its dazzling practical effects, which has been a huge selling point for the sequel since Keaton first teased them.
The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Cast Includes Returning Cast Members And Exciting Newcomers
In the earlier stages of this sequel’s development, there once was a rumor that Johnny Depp might be taking over the role of Betelgeuse. Well, we can assure you that is not the case, as the original actor to wear the stripes is back, with a few other familiar faces from the original Beetlejuice cast. The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cast also includes a few new characters joining in on the fun, so let’s take a look who is playing who.
Michael Keaton (Betelgeuse)
A Beetlejuice movie without the title character (whose name is actually spelled as the less marketable “Betelgeuse”) would be incomplete, which is why it “makes our millennium” to know that Michael Keaton is reprising the role and told the audience at CinemaCon 2024 that the sequel is "really fucking good." The Academy Award nominee, who also worked with Tim Burton in a couple of live-action Batman movies and most recently on Disney’s live-action remake of Dumbo, could not even tell Empire how long it has been since he had as much fun working on a movie.
Winona Ryder (Lydia Deetz)
Winona Ryder reprises her role as Lydia Deetz, who is now raising a teenage daughter when she comes face-to-face with a literal ghost from her past. The two-time Oscar nominee and Stranger Things star previously confirmed her involvement with the sequel’s development when speaking to Seth Myers on Late Night in 2015.
Catherine O’Hara (Delia Deetz)
Lydia’s eccentric stepmother, Delia, will once again be played by Catherine O’Hara, whom some audiences may also recognize from the Schitt’s Creek cast in her Emmy-winning role of Moira Rose. The Canadian comedian is also set to appear in a darker role on the horror spectrum in the upcoming horror TV show, The Last of Us Season 2.
Jenna Ortega (Astrid Deetz)
Fans and fans-to-be should be excited that Jenna Ortega is leading the sequel as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid. The former Disney Channel star is now a top Scream Queen, as part of the latest Scream movies and as the lead of Netflix’s Wednesday cast, which was also her first collaboration with Burton.
Monica Bellucci (Delores)
Apparently, Betelgeuse – who tried to marry Lydia as a plan to rejoin the land of the living in the first film – does have a spouse named Delores. She is played by Italian model and actor Monica Bellucci, who previously played the bride of another iconic horror character in 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which also starred Winona Ryder.
Justin Theroux (Rory)
At the moment, the only thing we know about Justin Theroux’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice character is that his name is Rory. The actor's experience with the afterlife in a classic episode of The Leftovers and contending with some freaky people in movies like American Psycho and Mulholland Dr. likely ensured he was prepared for whatever the role entails.
Willem Dafoe (Wolf Jackson)
Four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe is also in the cast as Wolf Jackson – an afterlife law enforcement officer. The actor revealed to The Guardian that he regretted spoiling that detail about his role to the press, but at least he managed to keep the character’s name a secret until his poster came out.
Arthur Conti
According to Deadline, Arthur Conti stars in the currently unnamed role of Astrid’s boyfriend. The young actor made his debut alongside HBO’s House of the Dragon cast in one episode of the Game of Thrones prequel series.
You may have noticed that Academy Award winner Geena Davis is not reprising her role as the deceased Barbara Maitland, nor is Alec Baldwin coming back as her also dead husband, Adam. Well, Davis has a theory that the reason for her exclusion from the sequel is that "ghosts don't age," which she explained to ET before adding, "not that I have."
What Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Is About
What we can gather from the two full-length trailers is that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice takes place after the death of Jeffrey Jones’ Charles Deetz, which appears to have a disheartening effect on his young granddaughter, Astrid. It is also clear that the teen is skeptical about the paranormal at first.
That is clearly about to change, and Lydia must turn to the last person she would have ever wanted to see again in order to save her daughter. It also appears that Keaton’s “trickster demon” is on the wanted list of a few different people – namely afterlife cop Wolf Jackson, who is also pursuing his spouse (or former spouse), Delores.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Is Rated PG-13
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has been rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use. We suspected this, despite the fact that the original was PG. Of course, that was in the late ‘80s and its subject matter likely would have earned it a PG-13 rating today.
Tim Burton Returns To Direct
Beetlejuice was Burton’s second feature-length effort and the first film to best represent his definitive style, convincing us that no one else could or should be overseeing the sequel. Thankfully, the legendary filmmaker is directing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – despite his doubtful remarks over the sequel to USA Today in 2019 – and is also producing along with Brad Pitt, David Geffen (who also produced the first film), and more. Burton’s longtime collaborator, Danny Elfman – who also composed his Batman movies – is scoring the music, much like he also did for the 1988 original.
Ortega and Burton are not the only Wednesday alumni involved with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as the screenplay has been penned by the smash hit Netflix series’ developers, Al Gough and Miles Millar. The script is based on a story by Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author, Seth Grahame-Smith, who was originally tapped to pen the sequel in 2011. By 2017, Grahame-Smith was replaced by Mike Vukadinovich and, four years later, revealed to Collider how he felt he never managed to perfect the story like he hoped, which led him to walk away from the project.
How To Watch The Original Beetlejuice
If you have not seen the original Beetlejuice, you are missing out on one of the best movies of the 1980s, which will surely be required viewing if you have any intention of seeing Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. You might also want to give the animated series a try, which goes in an alternate route by seeing the title character and Lydia form an alliance against things that go bump in the night, similar to their apparent dynamic in the sequel.
Stream Beetlejuice on Amazon Prime.
Buy Beetlejuice on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Buy or rent Beetlejuice (The Animated Series) on Amazon.
Buy Beetlejuice (The Animated Series) on DVD on Amazon.
Now, what do I think? Do I think Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will qualify as a worthy follow-up? I say we should just turn on the juice and see what shakes loose.
