Say his name three times, and Michael Keaton appears. Stars of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice made a surprise appearance at CinemaCon, sharing fresh footage from the sequel and assuring fans that it’s really impressive.
“It’s really personal and emotional,” director Tim Burton shared, joined onstage by Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe. “It feels like a strange, large-scale home movie for me.”
In a video, O’Hara mentioned the sequel will have both scary and funny moments, just like the original. She boldly added, “If people don’t like it, then forget them.”
Beetlejuice plot recap: A haunting comedy unfolds
In the first movie, the Deetz family moves from New York to a house in Winter River, Conn., previously owned by the deceased Maitlands. The Maitlands’ ghosts hire Beetlejuice, a self-proclaimed bio-exorcist, to drive out the Deetz family, leading to unexpected complications.
In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (in theaters Sept. 6), Delia and Lydia return to the house with Lydia’s daughter, Astrid (played by Jenna Ortega), after a family loss. When Astrid finds a model of the town in the attic and accidentally opens a portal to the Afterlife, Beetlejuice reemerges.
Burton described the sequel’s emphasis on three generations of Deetz women as central to the film. Keaton praised Ortega’s understanding of the tone, saying, She just got it.
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Cinemacon teases new Beetlejuice sequel footage
At CinemaCon, new footage revealed a scene with the original house covered in black sheets. An adult Lydia tells her daughter about her abilities, reminiscing about when she was her age, while her daughter picks up a Beetlejuice flier.
In the footage, Lydia summons Beetlejuice, who keeps her photo on his desk in the Afterlife. Lydia questions whether evil and the dead can coexist, setting the stage for what’s to come.
In the scene, Astrid, played by Ortega, flees from sandworms in a desert, hinting that she becomes trapped in the Afterlife and the Deetz women must rescue her.
Onstage, Keaton, channeling Beetlejuice, confidently declares, “I’ll tell you this: It’s really impressive.”
“This cast is incredible,” he exclaimed, mentioning he’d watched the sequel twice already. “Everyone is so hilarious. Their humor is just unbelievable.”
“I was anxious about whether we could do it again,” he confessed, “but every day became more enjoyable.”
New cast members revealed for Beetlejuice’ sequel
The new cast features Theroux as Rory, seen with the Deetz women at Charles’ funeral, Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, a former action star now serving as an Afterlife policeman, Bellucci as an undead entity described as soul-sucking, and Arthur Conti in a mysterious role.
Director Tim Burton explained in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly that he strongly related to the Lydia character. He emphasized how over the years, one’s journey transitions from being a cool teenager to a less exciting adult and back again, which added emotional depth and resonance to the story, drawing him into the project.
In bringing Keaton back to his iconic role, the filmmaker noted, “He just slipped back into it effortlessly.” Despite initial concerns, Keaton’s return was seamless and almost like “demon possession,” impressing the director with how naturally he fell back into character.
