Oscar nominated actor Michael Keaton Welcome Jenna Ortega to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice She was set up in the best possible way: by scaring her with the costume the first time they met. While appearing on The Tonight Show with Jimmy FallonOrtega spoke about her role in the highly anticipated sequel to the 1988 classic, which reunites Keaton with director Tim Burton and co-star Winona Ryder. The film is set to hit theaters on September 6, and according to Ortega, Keaton seemed to really enjoy playing the creepy character again.
During the interview, Ortega told Fallon about her experience filming, and in particular, her first meeting with Keaton, who reprises his role as the “Big Ghost” 36 years after the original film's release.
“He came up behind me. I was doing hair and makeup testing,
I got a slap on the shoulder, and I turned around, and it was very scary. He said, “Hi, I'm Michael,” and his face was peeling with mold.
“I played a great role, and then it was great until I met him a second time in terms of hair and makeup because I introduced myself to him again because I forgot that I had already met him.”
Ortega joins the cast of the sequel, which also includes returning actors Keaton, Ryder and Catherine O'Hara. Ortega plays Astrid, the daughter of Lydia Dietz (Ryder), who returns with her mother and Dahlia Dietz (O'Hara) to their home in Winter River after a family tragedy. While the relationship between mother and daughter is strained, all of that becomes irrelevant when Astrid finds herself in the afterlife and Lydia is forced to call upon a certain exorcist to lend her a helping hand — and other body parts — to restore.
The film's premiere comes as Ortega is filming the second season of Wednesdaythe hit Netflix series based on the classic Adam's Family Series. In fact, Burton said that Wednesday Inspired him to finally follow through. Beetlejuice Supplement, and would not exist without it.
Wednesday brought me back to why I love making things.
What we know about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice yet
A Beetlejuice There had been talk of a sequel for years, with everyone involved expressing hopes for another film. However, it wasn’t until 2023 that everything came together and Warner Bros. greenlit the film. According to Burton, being older and a father, he was better prepared for the film. He was 29 when he made the first film. BeetlejuiceHe was 64 when production on the sequel began, and that age and added experience (and two Oscar nominations) gave him the perspective to make the film.
For me, this became a very personal film, like a kind of weird family film.
Ortega echoes Burton's thoughts on the film's “weird” themes. Vanity Fair In an interview, she said that Astrid was “Strange, but in a different way and not the way you would expect.” She also said that now is the perfect time to return. Beetlejuicesaying “People need to rethink the weird and disgusting stories again.”
Production on the film began in May 2023, but was suspended that summer due to the writers' strike. Production resumed in November of that year, and was completed in a few days.
The cast also includes Justin Theroux as Rory, Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, Monica Bellucci as Delores, and Burn Gorman as Father Damien. Danny DeVito, who played the Penguin alongside Keaton in Burton's film, Batman ReturnsHe has been confirmed to appear as a zombie janitor. Original stars Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis will not be reprising their roles.Actor Jeffrey Jones has not been asked to return after being convicted of possessing child pornography.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
The film will be released in theaters on September 6, 2024.
