The first trailer for the long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel has arrived, and Michael Keaton’s Ghost With the Most doesn’t look like any worse for wear after 30-plus years in cinema limbo.
The teaser trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is fairly brief and starts with Jenna Ortega’s Astrid—daughter of one Lydia Deetz—bicycling over to the bridge where the Maitlands (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) died in the first film. We then cut to a funeral where a children’s choir sings a mournful version of Henry Belafonte’s “The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)” before shooting up to the old attic, where Lydia seems to have summoned our pal, Beetlejuice.
Entertainment Weekly shared the exclusive first-look photos from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Tim Burton’s highly anticipated sequel to the 1988 horror-comedy classic.
Along with the photos, EW published a feature on the sequel, which centers on three generations of women in the Deetz family: Catherine O’Hara’s Delia, Winona Ryder’s Lydia, and Lydia’s daughter Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega. You can see them in the photo above, alongside new character Rory (Justin Theroux), attending a funeral—Burton won’t say whose funeral they’re attending, but it seems most likely that it’s for Lydia’s father, Charles.
The Beetlejuice sequel also stars Willem Dafoe, Arthur Conti, and Monica Bellucci. Little else is known about the sequel, but Burton did confirm to EW that he used stop-motion effects to maintain the aesthetic of the original film. I’m still trying not to be too optimistic about this movie, but that’s great news.
On February 1, 2024, Warner Bros. revealed the first posters for the Beetlejuice sequel, which features the release date—September 6—on a waiting room ticket in a nod to the gag from the first film. The sequel also has a new official title, and it’s pretty clever: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Saying his name three times gets you in a world of trouble, of course, but twice is nice.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)