It has been a long time coming but, after a handful of false alarms, it looks like a Beetlejuice sequel is finally happening. In April 2023, during CinemaCon, Warner Bros. announced that Beetlejuice 2 was officially in development, with little other information attached. However, as we get closer to the start of production, the film has begun taking shape, and more details have been revealed.
Beetlejuice 2 release date
Warner Bros. has scheduled Beetlejuice 2 ‘s big arrival to theaters for Sept. 6, 2024, and it is expected to make its way to Max a good few months after that, Variety reports. The film is currently titled Beetlejuice 2, which could change in the future. According to the publication, filming is expected to start as early as May 10, in London.
Beetlejuice 2 cast
The most important aspect of a possible sequel to Burton’s 1988 runaway hit was that Michael Keaton agreed to return as the title ghoul. Thankfully, the Birdman actor has always been eager to reprise the mischievous character and has been confirmed by Variety to be coming back for 2024’s Beetlejuice 2.
The outlet also confirms Winona Ryder’s comeback as goth queen Lydia Deetz. Wednesday star, goth princess, and most recent Tim Burton muse, Jenna Ortega will join the cast as Lydia’s daughter. Mulholland Drive‘s Justin Theroux and Spider-Man‘s Willem Dafoe are also attached in unknown roles, while Irréversible’s Monica Bellucci is in talks to play Beetlejuice’s wife, according to The Hollywood Reporter. THR also confirms Catherine O’Hara’s return to the role of Lydia’s stepmother, and therefore Jenna Ortega’s grandma, Delia Deetz (what a trio!).
Burton will obviously return to direct. The filmmaker has been on a true high since his Netflix sensation about the cantankerous older daughter of the Addams family. Beetlejuice was his first big success, followed by consecutive smash hits in Batman, Edward Scissorhands, and many more. In the 2010s, Burton hit a creative lull, but the Wednesday fortune seems to have been completely revitalizing.
Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment will be producing the film, with Wednesday scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar penning the screenplay, Variety reports.
Beetlejuice 2 plot
There is no official synopsis for the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel, but it’s presumably a real-time continuation of the first film, with Lydia returning 35 years later, now with a daughter.
The project has been in development purgatory since the early 90s with director Tim Burton initially planning to set the sequel in Hawaii, where Betelgeuse would fight the ghost of a Kahuna, after moving to the island with the Deetz family. It’s unknown whether that is still the plan for Beetlejuice 2, but it’s unlikely.