“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” finally hits theaters this Thursday (5) but it took a special bit of magic for the sequel to Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 classic to come together.
The filmmaker brings back much of the cast for the sequel, with Michael Keaton returning as the demonic and cunning title character and Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder reprising their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz, respectively.
But it was Jenna Ortega Joins Original Stars and playing Astrid, Winona’s daughter and Catherine’s granddaughter who ended up serving as the centerpiece for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
“Jenna needed to be born, become an actress and work with Tim,” O’Hara said in a recent interview with CNN explaining why the sequence took so long to “fall into place”.
She went on to say that Burton “thinking about this young woman’s life from her point of view, delving into it” and “seeing what an incredible actress (Ortega) is” served as the inspiration the director needed for the sequel to come to fruition.
The Wednesday star wasn’t even born when the first Beetlejuice was released, and she didn’t see the original film until she was about nine years old in the mid-2010s, but Jenna Ortega was the perfect addition to the highly anticipated sequel.
She told the CNN that Burton offered him the role in “Beetlejuice” while they were working together on the second season of the Netflix hit “Wednesday,” which is based on another dark and macabre franchise: “The Addams Family.” The “Beetlejuice” sequel was written by the “Wednesday” co-creators.
“I was just having a meeting with him about ‘Wandinha’ and he put the ‘Beetlejuice’ script in my lap,” Ortega recalled, adding that she “just never anticipated” being a part of the project.
“And then I read the script almost immediately, and obviously seeing Tim’s passion for it and having a passion for not only the first film but also the character of Astrid herself, it kind of felt like an almost instant decision,” she said of taking on the role.
Reprising roles that helped launch their careers in the 1980s, Ryder and O’Hara said returning to the world of “Beetlejuice” has been rewarding, both professionally and personally.
“There’s nothing like it,” Ryder shared. “It’s a genre of its own. That’s a testament to Tim,” she added of director Burton, who she said created “an entire genre” somewhere between thriller and comedy, with “a lot of different things intertwined.”
“It was really exciting to be able to go back to that,” he added. “It’s amazing to me that he was able to create that same energy of intimacy and freedom and trying new things.”
Ortega said she learned from Ryder and O’Hara, whom she called “comedy legends.”
“I feel like Winona has a quality that I’ve never seen before,” the “Scream VI” star said of her on-screen mother in “Beetlejuice.” “Where someone can be so honest and vulnerable with their eyes, but still have some kind of mysterious quality to them.”
Since the sequel took more than 30 years to come to fruition, it may be too early to consider a third film to complete a “Beetlejuice” trilogy, but all three women said they would be open to returning if Burton has a third film in mind.
After all, the only way to conjure the scariest ghost is to say its name three times. But let’s hope it doesn’t take another three and a half decades for a third movie to happen.
“Yes, I would like to be alive in 30 years!” O’Hara joked.
Watch the trailer for “Beetlejuice”
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This content was originally published in “Beetlejuice”: actresses “blame” Jenna Ortega for the delay in the sequel; understand on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
