The first look at 'Beetlejuice 2' is here with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder

films

by Lauren Sarner

It's show time.

'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice', the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton's original hit film, has released its first images.

Thirty-six years after the original “Beetlejuice” film premiered in 1988, Michael Keaton returns as the ghoulish-looking, black-and-white-striped exorcist Betelgeuse.

Burton, 65, returns to direct, He told EW tHe and Keaton, 72, had discussed a sequel for many years, but “unless it was right, he didn't have a burning desire to do it. I think we all felt the same way. It only made sense if it had an emotional hook.”

The original film follows Barbara and Adam Maitland (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) who die and find themselves as new ghosts.

Their house has been bought by the Dietz family, including Charles (Jeffrey Jones), his wife Delia (Catherine O'Hara), and his goth daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder), the only one who can see ghosts.

Because the afterlife involves complicated bureaucracy, the Maitlands enlist the help of the obnoxious “vital exorcist” Betelgeuse (Keaton) to scare off the Dietz family.

The film ends with the Dietz and Maitland families living in the house in uneasy harmony.

The makers of the sequel haven't revealed many details about the story, but Keaton, Ryder, and O'Hara will return to reprise their roles. Jenna Ortega will join the cast as Lydia's daughter, Astrid, and Justin Theroux has also joined the cast as a mysterious character named Rory. Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe complete the collection.

Burton told the outlet that the sequel picks up decades after the death of a family member.

“There's something going on that's stirring things up,” he joked.

For Burton, the emotional factor of Part Two was Lydia's growth and union with her mother and daughter.

“You identify with Lydia's character, but then you get to all these years, and you start your own journey, and you go from a cool teenager to a lame adult, and back and forth again,” he told the outlet.

“And that made it emotional, and gave it the foundation. So that was the thing that really pushed me into it.”

Regarding watching Keaton get back into his costume, Burton said, “He just got back into his costume. It was kind of scary for someone who probably wasn't very interested in doing that. It was beautiful for me to see all the actors, but it's, kind of… , like demon possession, just got back into it.

Burton said that they came up with many different plot ideas for the sequel.

“We talked about a lot of different things. It was early on when we were going to 'Beetlejuice and the Haunted Mansion,' 'Beetlejuice Goes West,' whatever. A lot of things came up.”

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will be in theaters on September 6, 2024.