Will Winona Ryder be in Beetlejuice 2?

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Thanks to Tim Burton currently being on a press tour for his latest film, BIG EYES, the director is being pounded with plenty of BEETLEJUICE 2 questions; questions like, “So, when the hell is Beetlejuice 2 coming out?” Burton, to his credit, doesn’t seem to mind; perhaps it’s because all indications are he really is finally planning to make the long-delayed sequel.

We already know Michael Keaton is in (if the timing works out), and that Burton’s DARK SHADOWS collaborator Seth Grahame-Smith has penned the script. But what of BEETLEJUICE’s other key players? We can perhaps assume the characters played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis won’t be majorly involved (although cameos seem feasible), but how about Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz, who was briefly the apple of Beetlejuice’s eye?

When asked whether or not Lydia would return for the sequel, Burton had these wise words to impart:

Oh yeah, yeah yeah yeah… Oh yeah, oh yeah. Yeah yeah, oh yeah.”

Huh. So is that a yes or a no, Tim?

Burton and Ryder worked together not long ago on a music video for The Killers, and apparently this meeting stirred an interest in BEETLEJUICE 2 for Burton that had perhaps been previously absent.

I worked with [Ryder], I hadn’t seen her in awhile and she was so great… I was so happy to see her. So those kinds of elements mean something to me. Michael, and her and that character, I just miss it, there’s some freedom about that character that I love.”

As with all else concerning this project, we’ll just have to wait and see. In the meantime, watch out for sandworms.