Beetlejuice 2 Trailer Sets The 'Juice Loose - But Something Is Strange And Unusual
Welcome to the afterlife ... again!
After decades of speculation and half-starts (including a failed script that would have taken the character to Hawaii), "Beetlejuice 2" is finally ready to roll into theatres worldwide in 2024 — and no, as you can see from the trailer above, he's not going Hawaiian this time.
The newly released montage of images helps us catch up with a few of the franchise's most familiar faces. The titular ghost (Michael Keaton) reconnects with his former nemesis Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) years after he was banished to the afterlife via the combined might of Lydia and her ghostly friends. The once-dramatic Lydia is a grown-up now, dealing with a rebellious daughter named Astrid (Jenna Ortega). Presumably, the mother-daughter conflict will help play into the issues that bring Beetlejuice back to the world of the living. And this central conflict looks to be multi-generational, as Catherine O'Hara is back as Lydia's stepmother, Delia.
Beetlejuice brings a lady of his own to this dogfight in the form of his estranged wife, played by Monica Bellucci. Also on board is Willem Dafoe, who pops up as a former actor who believes he's a lawman and enforces the afterlife's rules. The visuals for this Tim Burton feast are beautifully on-point, and yes, that's Danny Elfman's score you hear in the background throughout the trailer. Still, it's hard not to notice that a few well-loved characters are missing from the party...
Which characters won't appear in Beetlejuice 2?
As the trailer for "Beetlejuice 2" shows, a few of the first film's characters are necessarily absent. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis will not be reprising their roles as Adam and Barbara Maitland because explaining how their ageless characters have suddenly added over thirty years to their frames poses a problem. While Davis told People Magazine she'd love to step back into Barbara's shoes in 2022, she admitted, "I have a feeling that ghosts don't age." Baldwin, meanwhile, has continued to keep busy and has not spoken out about returning to play Adam.
Additionally, two important "Beetlejuice" cast members have passed away since the first film's release: Glenn Shadix, who played Otho, passed away in 2010, and Sylvia Sidney, who played the Maitland's guide to the underground of the undead, Juno, died in 1999.
"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" will hit theaters on September 6, 2024.