Putting to rest one of the most rumor-generating film possibilities in cinematic history, the “ghost with the most” will eventually have his next major moment.
Warner Bros. verified to CNN on Tuesday that “Beetlejuice 2,” the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 macabre masterpiece, will be released in September of 2024. CNN and Warner Bros. are both subsidiaries of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent corporation of CNN.
The new film reportedly features the return of original performers Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, along with the addition of “Wednesday” and “Scream VI” actress Jenna Ortega.
“Beetlejuice” starred Keaton, Ryder, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis, and was a dark, hilarious, and inventive original story that became a critical and commercial success, spawning animations and a recently-closed Broadway musical.
The long-awaited sequel to “Beetlejuice 2” is finally making its way to theaters.
The success of the first film was primarily due to the cast, which featured Keaton as a fast-talking and extremely inappropriate poltergeist who seeks to exploit the “recently deceased” Maitlands (Baldwin and Davis) and their former residence’s new occupants.
Ryder’s gothic Lydia Deetz, daughter of said landlords, makes one of the finest character debuts in “Beetlejuice”; it was her third-ever screen credit. Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning heroine of “Schitt’s Creek,” was also prominently featured in the film as Lydia’s stepmother Delia Deetz.
Years of speculation have surrounded the possibility of a sequel, with CNN reporting in 2016 that Ryder believed “it would be great if it happened, under the right circumstances.” Burton and Keaton both alluded at the possibility of a sequel as early as 2013.
It is unknown whether the ongoing writers’ strike will impact “Beetlejuice 2’s” production timeline or release date. The premiere of the film is currently scheduled for Friday, September 6, 2024.
