Beetlejuice 2 opens in September and features Jenna Ortega in the cast, as well as protagonists Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, who were also in the first film.
21 mar 2024 – 23h06
(updated on 3/22/2024 at 9:37 am)
Summary
The film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits theaters in the United States on September 6th and stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. The plot revolves around a young adult Lydia and her daughter Astrid, who need to face the mocking spirits trapped in the house they inhabit.
Photo: Warner Bros. / Canaltech
To the surprise of many, the iconic The ghosts have funor Beetlejuice, will finally get a sequel after more than 30 years. Entitled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in English, the film won the Brazilian title of Ghosts Still Have Fun: Beetjuice Beetlejuiceand hits theaters in the United States on September 6th.
The new film once again brings Michael Keaton in the role of the bioexorcist specialized in scaring away the living and Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, the young woman from the first film who is now an adult and has a teenage daughter to raise.
In addition to them, Jenna Ortega joins the team as Astrid (Lydia’s daughter), Willem Dafoe (‘Poor Creatures) as a ghost detective/former B-movie action star, Monica Bellucci as the wife of Betelgeuse — the correct name of the title character — and Justin Theroux (The Leftovers).
Plot details have not yet been revealed, but it is already known that the second film will be a direct continuation of the original. In the plot of the 1988 film, the public met Bárbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin), a couple who died in a car accident, but still did not accept their status as ghosts. Trapped in the material world, they live haunting their old home.
Jenna Ortega joined the cast of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Disclosure/Warner Bros)
Foto: Canaltech
It happens that, some time later, a new family formed by Charles (Jeffrey Jones), Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and their teenage daughter Lydia moves into the residence and the two ghosts try to haunt them so that they leave the place. Not knowing how to scare away the living, the duo summon a flashy spirit called Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to make the new residents’ lives a living hell.
What will the story of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice be like?
In the 2024 film, Lydia is already an adult and has a daughter named Astrid. Despite having completely different styles — Lydia is more “dark” and melancholic and Astrid is more extroverted — the two are very close, and will have to come together to defeat the mocking spirits. The problem is that Beetlejuice’s return will make Lydia relive old traumas from when she was young.
Who is Jenna Ortega’s character?
New to the cast, Ortega will give life to a character that is far from her own. He beat me from the series of the same name Netflix or Tara Carpenter from Scream 6. This time, she will wear happier clothes and be less somber — although the actress’s always closed expression doesn’t help much with this image. In an interview with the international press, she told how excited she is about the film.
“Bringing Beetlejuice back — of all stories — is so great because people need to revisit weird stories. We need to introduce the younger generation, who are always on the phone, to new artistic and creative ideas.”
The actress also commented that the entire team did an incredible job, and that little CGI was used. Tim Burton, director of the first film who remains in charge of the new production, was also satisfied with the result. He commented that he liked what he saw on stage and stated that the film made him remember the reasons why he enjoys producing feature films.
Is this the first sequel?
Yes. It is worth remembering that, despite the success of Beetlejuice from the 1980s, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the first official continuation of the plot.
In the 2010s, Tim Burton hired playwright Jonathan Gems (from Mars Attacks!) to write Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian (Beetlejuice goes to Hawaii), but the idea did not go ahead and the draft was archived in 2019.
In 2019, a musical inspired by the film premiered on Broadway, with lyrics and music by Eddie Perfect, libretto by Scott Brown and Anthony King and direction by Alex Timbers. Nominated for eight Tony Awards, the play is showing in São Paulo with Eduardo Sterblitch in the lead role.
Beetlejuice 2 premieres on September 6th. (Disclosure/Warner Bros)
Foto: Canaltech
The new sequence was fortunately successful, but it also faced some setbacks such as the writers’ strike that took place in 2023. At the time production was stopped, Burton commented that he only had a day and a half of recording ready. Despite this, the film worked well and pleased the protagonist. Keaton commented that he has already watched the film.
“I’ve seen it now. I’ll see it again after some minor tweaks in the editing room, and I can confidently say that this is great. The other one was so fun and exciting visually, it’s all of that, but really beautiful and curiously moving here and there. I wasn’t ready for that. It’s great.”
Now, Burton and the entire team need to wait for the release to see if the film will be popular with the audience or will be an irrelevant sequel to the public. It is worth remembering that the first feature won the Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup in 1989 and grossed a box office of almost US$74 million (around R$370 million). Anyone who wants to see it (or see it again) can find it on Prime Video.
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