“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is almost (finally) here. The Tim Burton-directed sequel to the 1988 classic arrives in theaters on Sept. 6. But a new trailer gives us a better idea of what to expect from the long-awaited project. Watch it above.
In “Beetlejuce 2,” Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) is a paranormal investigation TV host struggling to re-connect with her family following the death of her father (played in the first film by Jeffrey Jones, not in the sequel for obvious reasons). She is soon forced to strike an unsavory deal with the ghost with the most himself, Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) to save her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Sounds fun right? Catherine O’Hara also returns as Lydia’s mother Delia, with new characters played by Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe and Burn Gorman.
Development on a “Beetlejuice” sequel began almost after the original film was released, with Burton commissioning Jonathan Gems, who would work on a number of unrealized Burton projects alongside “Mars Attacks!,” to write “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.” One of the more infamous unmade movies, it followed the Deetz family as they moved to Hawaii. The climax of the movie was a surf contest that Betelgeuse competed in. In the early 1990s additional writers were brought in to help but the project was pretty much dead by the end of the decade.
In 2011 the project was revived by Seth Grahame-Smith, who had worked with Burton on “Dark Shadows” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Grahame-Smith worked on the project for the next few years, with Burton and various cast members keeping hope alive in the press. But by 2019 Warner Bros. had officially shelved the project and as late as October 2022, Burton said that he was no longer involved in the project. That changed pretty quickly because the spring of 2023, Burton, Keaton and Ortega had all signed on, this time with a script by Burton’s “Wednesday” collaborators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, with Grahame-Smith receiving story credit.
Spooky season starts early when “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” arrives in theaters on September 6.
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