It’s been a long wait, but director Tim Burton is finally heading into production on a sequel to his 1988 classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE) – and he’s assembling a cast that looks to guarantee that Beetlejuice 2 is going to be worth the wait. Not only is Michael Keaton reprising the role of the titular ghoul and Winona Ryder returning to play the “strange and unusual” Lydia Deetz, with Catherine O’Hara back as Lydia’s stepmother Delia, but new additions include Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter, Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife, and Justin Theroux in an unspecified role. Now The Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that Willem Dafoe has joined the cast and will be playing a law enforcement officer in the afterlife.
We’re still waiting to hear whether or not the rumor that Jean-Claude Van Damme is going to play a ghost in this movie will turn out to be true.
Beetlejuice 2 was in development hell for decades. In 1990, Jonathan Gems was hired to write a sequel that was going to be titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. Burton considered having Daniel Waters rewrite that script, Pamela Norris did rewrite it, and Warner Bros. offered Kevin Smith the chance to do another rewrite. He turned it down. Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write and produce a new version of a sequel in 2011. Mike Vukadinovich was brought on to rewrite his script in 2017.
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, co-creators and co-showrunners of Netflix’s hit series Wednesday (which stars Ortega as the title character), have written the screenplay for Beetlejuice 2 that is actually going to be filmed. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
Brad Pitt’s Plan B is producing the sequel, which will be filming in London this summer.
Written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren from a story McDowell crafted with Larry Wilson, the original Beetlejuice has the following synopsis: What’s a yuppie ghost couple to do when their quaint New England home is overrun by trendy New Yorkers? They hire a freelance ‘bio-exorcist’ to spook the intruders. And everyone gets more than he, she or it bargained for! Director Tim Burton teams with Michael Keaton. The result? ‘Keaton’s Beetlejuice is one of the biggest, baddest wolves a ghost movie has ever unleashed, a polter-gas’ (The Village Voice). He’s a juggernaut of jokes, jolts and jive who hurls one-liners, spins into grotesque forms, gobbles insects and can’t leave ladies (living or dead) alone. So exorcise your right to fun. Say the ‘B’ word three times and have a wonderful Day-O!
Beetlejuice 2 is heading toward a September 6, 2024 theatrical release. Are you looking forward to the film? What do you think of Willem Dafoe joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.