Jenna Ortega just landed another role in the imaginative Tim Burton cinematic universe. Per a new Variety report, the Wednesday actress will star in Beetlejuice 2, opposite Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, who will reprise their roles as the titular Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz, respectively. Ortega will reportedly play Ryder’s daughter in the new film.
The role marks the second time the young star will work with the legendary director, known for his fan-favorite gothic fantasies. She famously stars as Wednesday Addams in the Netflix hit, produced by Burton. Justin Theroux will join Ortega as a newcomer in the forthcoming film in a “yet-to-be-revealed role.”
Beetlejuice 2 continues the story of Burton’s beloved 1998 supernatural comedy, which starred Keaton and Ryder alongside Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O’Hara. While details of the sequel’s plot remains under wraps, production is said to have started in London yesterday, according to the outlet.
Ortega will portray the daughter of Ryder’s character, Lydia. In the first film, Lydia was a despondent teen, moving into a new home with her eccentric parents when she accidentally stumbled upon the ghosts of a recently deceased couple, Barbara (Davis) and Adam (Baldwin), living in the attic, bumping heads with a pesky poltergeist, whose name you ought not to say three times – (hint, hint: Beetlejuice).
Beetlejuice 2 will mark the fourth time Ryder has worked with Burton. The Stranger Things actress has starred in Beetlejuice, 1990’s Edward Scissorhands, and 2012’s Frankenweenie.
Ortega is the reigning queen of the macabre film genre, starring in You, X, Scream 5 and 6, and of course, as the sardonic daughter of the Addams Family, Wednesday.
Screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who worked with Burton on Wednesday as co-creators, writers and executive producers are writing the Beetlejuice 2 screenplay. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is set to produce.
Warner Bros has confirmed that Beetlejuice 2 is set to hit theaters on September 6, 2024. Mark your calendars.
