Posted in: Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: beetlejuice, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, film, tim burton, Warner Bros

Why Two Original Beetlejuice Characters Didn't Return for the Sequel

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice filmmaker Tim Burton sheds light on his choice to keep other characters from the first film out of the sequel.

After it was announced that Winona Ryder would return alongside Michael Keaton and Catherine O'Hara for the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, many began to hold out hope that a majority of the film's cast would return. However, it's since been confirmed that outside of what's been revealed (the three aforementioned cast members), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice didn't bring back any other characters from the first film. So, what was the reasoning?

When speaking to People about the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Burton offered new insight into the choice to leave a few characters (like Adam and Barbara) out of the long-awaited sequel. Burton tells the publication, "I think the thing was for me; I didn't want to just tick any boxes. So even though they were such an amazing integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else," The filmmaker then goes on to elaborate, "A sequel like this, it really had to do with the time… That was my hook into it, the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. And that [would] be the nucleus of it. I couldn't have made this personally back in 1989 or whatever."

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Official Summary, Cast, and Release Date

Beetlejuice is back! Oscar-nominated, singular creative visionary Tim Burton and Oscar nominee and star Michael Keaton reunite for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Burton's award-winning Beetlejuice.

Keaton returns to his iconic role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O'Hara (Schitt$ Creek, Corpse Bride) as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux (Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre, The Matrix films), Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia's daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, At Eternity's Gate).

After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic, and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it's only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice's name three times, and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Burton, a genre unto himself, directs from a screenplay by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Wednesday), story by Gough & Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith (The LEGO® Batman Movie), based on characters created by Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson. The film's producers are Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper, and Burton, with Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gough, Millar, Brad Pitt, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick, Pete Chiappetta, Andrew Lary, Anthony Tittanegro, Grahame-Smith, and David Katzenberg executive producing.

A Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, was released only in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2024, nationwide and internationally beginning 4 September 2024.

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