Tim Burton says ‘Beetlejuice 2’ has officially wrapped production
By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN
(CNN) — The long-awaited sequel to 1988’s “Beetlejuice” has finished production, bringing us one step closer to seeing Michael Keaton’s gleefully grotesque “ghost with the most” grace our screens once again.
Tim Burton, the visionary director behind the original classic as well as the sequel, shared the production update on his Instagram page Thursday.
“Just finished shooting Beetlejuice. Thank you to everyone involved,” he wrote in the caption, alongside a photo of himself relaxing on set.
Burton is seen holding a long numbered ticket in the photo, and the set in which he is seen sitting appeared similar to the iconic Neitherworld waiting room from the first movie.
The new film will feature the return of original stars Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, as well as the addition of “Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Ryder’s character Lydia Deetz.
Newcomers among the sequel’s cast include Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe and Justin Theroux. Dafoe told Variety earlier this week that he will play “a police officer in the afterlife.”
“So I’m a dead person. And in life I was a B-movie action star, but I had an accident and that’s what sent me to the other side. But because of my skills, I became a detective character in the afterlife,” Dafoe added.
The 1988 movie starred Keaton as the fast-talking, highly inappropriate poltergeist who looks to take advantage of a “recently deceased” couple, as well as their former home’s wacky new tenants.
It was a dark, funny and inventive original story that turned into a critical and bankable success, spawning cartoons as well as a recently-shuttered Broadway musical.
Keaton shared in a June interview with Empire that he and Burton both agreed the sequel would have “to be done as close to the way we made it the first time,” adding that working on “Beetlejuice 2” is “the most fun” he’s had working on a film in a while.
“Beetlejuice 2” is set to premiere in theaters in September 2024.
CNN’s Dan Heching contributed to this report.
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