Over 36 years after Beetlejuice graced theaters back in 1988, Michael Keaton has been summoned once again to reprise his role as the crude title character for the sequel to Tim Burton’s cult classic. Set to arrive on September 6, EW has shared first-look images for the upcoming movie — titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — showing the highly anticipated return of Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara.
The newly uploaded photos show an individual photo of Keaton as “bio-exorcist” Betelgeuse/Beetlejuice, while Ryder and O’Hara reprise their roles as Lydia and Delia Deetz on another. Apart from the returning cast members, the sequel will also feature new faces, including Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) as Lydia’s daughter Astrid and Justin Theroux (The Leftovers) as Rory.
You can check out the first-look photos down below:
The 1988 film followed Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Matiland (Alec Baldwin) as they tried to scare away current residents of their home after their untimely demise due to a car accident. After their attempts proved to be unsuccessful, they then enlisted the help of Beetlejuice (Keaton), whose aid seems to be more dangerous not only for the Deetz but for the Maitlands as well.
What is the Beetlejuice sequel about?
The horror comedy sequel will pick up decades after the events of the original one. In an interview with EW, sequel director Burton — who also directed the first movie — said the sequel will center on a family member’s death, which presumably caught the attention of Beetlejuice.
“There’s something that happens that sets things in motion . . . One thing’s for sure, Beetlejuice comes back into play,” said Burton.
On their decision to name the sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Burton added that naming it “Beetlejuice 2” seems like a bad idea since the first movie came out in 1988. “It didn’t feel like that kind of a movie. The other one I thought of, because one of my favorite Dracula movies is Dracula A.D. 1972, was Beetlejuice 2024 A.D. But this was a nice simple one.”
Other details about the sequel remain under wraps, other than the names involved in it. In addition to returning cast members and Ortega and Theroux’s involvement, the sequel will also include the likes of Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, and Willem Dafoe.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Burton, Tommy Harper, Marc Toberoff, and David Geffen.
