Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a 2024 American dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) and the second film of the Beetlejuice franchise, the film stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe. Set more than three decades after the first Beetlejuice, it follows Lydia Deetz, now a mother, struggling to keep her family together in the wake of a loss as the specter Betelgeuse[lower-alpha 1] returns to haunt her.
After the success of Beetlejuice, plans for a sequel were announced by The Geffen Film Company, its original producers. Little materialized until 2011 when Warner Bros. Pictures hired Seth Grahame-Smith to pitch a story, which went through numerous revisions before being shelved in late 2019. Plans for a sequel were revived in early 2022, with Burton set to co-produce with Brad Pitt's studio Plan B Entertainment. After the casting process finished in early 2023, principal photography, supervised by cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, took place in parts of England and the U.S. from May to November, despite being suspended for four months due to the 2023 actors' strike. The official title was revealed in February 2024. During post-production, editing was handled by Jay Prychidny and the musical score was composed by longtime Burton collaborator Danny Elfman.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opened the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 28, 2024,[2] and was theatrically released overseas on September 4, 2024, and in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures two days later. The film has received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $335 million worldwide on an about $100 million budget.
Plot[]
In 2024, Lydia Deetz is the host of a supernatural talk show called Ghost House. She is estranged from her daughter Astrid after her husband, Richard, died in the Amazon. While taping an episode, Lydia hallucinates seeing Betelgeuse, the ghost who tried to marry her thirty-six years earlier,[lower-alpha 2] in the audience.
When Lydia's father Charles dies, she, her stepmother Delia, and the family gathers in Winter River, Connecticut, to bury him. At the wake, Rory, Lydia's boyfriend and producer, pressures her to marry him on Halloween and she hesitantly agrees. Astrid bikes through town and meets a boy named Jeremy Frazier who invites her to spend Halloween with him.
In the afterlife, Betelgeuse oversees an office of "bio-exorcists" and still lusts for Lydia. Ghost detective Wolf Jackson warns Betelgeuse that his ex-wife, Delores, has escaped captivity and gone on a killing spree, draining the souls of the dead. Betelgeuse explains that they met during the Black Plague in Italy, but Delores was a cult member who poisoned him as part of an immortality ritual; he murdered her before he succumbed.
Astrid is shocked to learn she has inherited her mother's powers and discovers Jeremy is a ghost; he asks her to accompany him to the afterlife to help regain his life. In exchange, she can meet her father's spirit. Lydia learns from a realtor that Jeremy murdered his own parents twenty-three years earlier and died when the police tried to arrest him. Lydia reluctantly summons Betelgeuse and signs a contract to marry him if he takes her to the afterlife to save Astrid. Wolf discovers Betelgeuse has brought a living person into the afterlife, and begins a manhunt for him.
Betelgeuse and Lydia search for Astrid, while Jeremy escorts her through the afterlife bureaucracy. He admits tricking Astrid into exchanging her life for his, and Astrid is taken to the "Soul Train" to be sent to the Great Beyond. However, Astrid's father Richard spots and follows her. Lydia pulls Astrid off the Soul Train and they escape through a portal to Saturn's moon Titan, where Richard saves them from a sandworm. While Betelgeuse sends Jeremy to Hell, Richard shows Lydia and Astrid how to return to the living world. Meanwhile, Delia performs a ceremony in mourning for Charles; she is bitten by two venomous snakes she was assured were defanged. She arrives in the afterlife and summons Betelgeuse to help find Charles; he agrees if Delia will help him find Lydia.
Lydia and Astrid arrive at the church for the wedding. Betelgeuse appears with Delia and uses a "truth serum" to force Rory to admit that he is only using Lydia for her money. Betelgeuse then dresses himself and Lydia in formal clothes and prepares to marry her when Delores arrives seeking revenge. Wolf arrives but Betelgeuse freezes him and his comrades in order to avoid arrest and continue the ceremony.
Astrid opens a portal to summon the sandworm from Titan and Betelgeuse leads it to devour Delores and Rory. However, Astrid reveals that because Betelgeuse illegally brought Lydia into the afterlife, their marriage contract is void. Lydia recites Betelgeuse's name three times and banishes him back to the afterlife. Delia returns to the afterlife with Wolf. She is reunited with Charles' spirit as he is about to board the Soul Train to the Great Beyond.
As everything returns to normal, Lydia ends her Ghost House show to spend more time with Astrid. Despite this, Lydia continues having nightmares about Betelgeuse, including a dream where Astrid gives birth to Betelgeuse's child. After waking up, Lydia seems to realize that Betelgeuse will not stop pursuing her.
Cast[]
The cast and crew of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice at the 81st Venice International Film Festival
- Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse (pronounced "Beetlejuice"), an afterlife ghost and "bio-exorcist" who wants to marry someone from the realm of the living. Both Keaton and director Tim Burton opted to keep the character as politically incorrect as he was in the original film due to their love for that character trait, with Burton deeming Betelgeuse as a character whose whole point is that he does not undergo any character arc or development, never evolving.[3]
- Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, the former gothic teenager who was almost forced to marry Betelgeuse, now mother of Astrid Deetz and hostess of the Ghost House with Lydia Deetz show. Ryder initially imagined her character would live as a spinster in the Maitland residence's attic, but appreciated the development of her character, particularly around her relationship with daughter Astrid.
- Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz, Lydia's stepmother, Astrid's stepgrandmother and Charles Deetz's widow, now the hostess of a real art show located in a Soho gallery.[4]
- Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz, Lydia's teenage daughter and Delia's step-granddaughter.
- Justin Theroux as Rory, Lydia's current boyfriend and a television producer.[4][5] Rory was inspired by Otho, Delia Deetz's interior design and exorcist friend played by the late Glenn Shadix in the original film. Writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar devised him as a character who everyone wanted to see getting his comeuppance, like Otho, and enjoying the idea of Lydia being in a weird codependent relationship which everyone sees that way, herself included. Gough and Millar wanted the audience to understand why Rory is with Lydia and that he was a "schmuck", but they felt that they needed to find Rory's humanity without him being a mere punchline. Once Theroux was cast and connected with the writers over Zoom, he provided Gough and Millar with ideas they incorporated.[6]
- Monica Bellucci as Delores, Betelgeuse's ex-wife who, in life, was a mysterious soul-sucking witch who poisoned Betelgeuse several centuries earlier during the Black Plague before he killed her with an axe in retaliation.
- Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, a ghost detective who, in life, was a B movie action star.[7]
- Arthur Conti as Jeremy Frazier, an undead teenage murderer who is Astrid's brief love interest.[8][9]
- Santiago Cabrera as Richard, Astrid's late father and Lydia's former husband who disappeared in Brazil's Amazonas.
- Burn Gorman as Father Damien, a reverend in Winter River.[10]
- Amy Nuttall as local real estate agent Jane Butterfield Jr., the daughter of the first film's Jane Butterfield Sr., portrayed in the previous film by Rachel Mittelman.
- Danny DeVito as an afterlife janitor who died at the hands of Delores.
- Nick Kellington as Bob, a zombie considered a "shrinker" who is Betelgeuse's lead worker.
- Mark Heenhan (physical) and Charlie Hopkinson (voice) as Charles Deetz, Lydia's father and Delia's deceased husband who was decapitated by a shark, hence why he goes to the afterlife without his upper half. The character is depicted with the likeness of original actor Jeffrey Jones through various means, including archival photos, paintings and an animated stop-motion sequence that describes the character's death.[11][12][13] The character's death was inspired by a nightmare of Burton's about his own death.[14]
Jane Leaney and David Ayres portray Mrs. and Mr. Frazier, Jeremy's murdered parents. Georgina Beedle portrays Janet, Wolf Jackson's secretary who "keeps him real", while Filipe Cates portrays Vlad, a young man dressed as a vampire who marries Astrid in Lydia's dream.
Production[]
Development[]
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Pre-production[]
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Filming[]
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Post-production[]
By March 2024, Keaton had seen a completed rough cut of the film and stated that further editing would occur thereafter.[15] Later that month, it was stated in The Hollywood Reporter that Jeffrey Jones would not reprise his role as Charles Deetz in the film, his character being revealed in the trailers to have been killed off.[16] In April, Geena Davis stated she would not be returning as Barbara Maitland due to her age, saying, "Our characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it's been a while, it's been a minute."[17] In August, Burton would confirm via People that Davis and Alec Baldwin didn't return for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as the Maitlands weren't needed for the story he wanted to tell, which he admitted that he personally couldn't have done in 1989 due to it focusing on three generations within the Deetz family. To explain their absence, Burton stated that the film would reveal the Maitlands used a loophole to leave their former house during the interim between this film and the original.[18] Gough told Entertainment Weekly that an early draft for the film had the Maitlands making a cameo appearance at the end, he and Millar discussing the idea with Burton, but all three moved on from the concept as they felt no de-aging technology would be convincing enough to make the audience believe that Davis and Baldwin hadn't aged since 1988. Also, they felt that the Maitland couple's story had been told and their appearance would clash with Burton's decision to not make any fan service.[19] Production VFX supervisor is Angus Bickerton, working with VFX producer Alex Bicknell, supported by visual effects studios Framestore, One of Us and BUF.[20][21]
Music[]
- Main article: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (soundtrack)
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Release[]
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Reception[]
Box office[]
As of September 24, 2024[update], Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has grossed $230.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $104.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $335.3 million.[22][23]
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Critical response[]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 6.5 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 331/10. On the website, the critics' consensus reads, "Michael Keaton's devious poltergeist still has plenty of juice left in this madcap return to form for Tim Burton, marrying charming practical effects and ghoulish gags to provide a fun fun time." Using a weighted average calculator, Metacritic assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 61 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, up from the "B" earned by the first film, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 81% overall positive score, with 68% saying they would definitely recommend it.[24]
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Future[]
When asked about a potential third film, Burton said, "Let's do the math...it took 35 years to do this, so I'll be over 100. But I guess it's possible with the advent of science these days, but I don't think so."[25]
Notes[]
- ↑ The title character is variously spelled "Betelgeuse", "Beetle Juice", and "Beetlejuice" in the film, script, and credits. The "Betelgeuse" spelling is used throughout this article for consistency.
- ↑ As depicted in Beetlejuice (1988).
References[]
- ↑ [TBA Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (12A)] (August 19, 2024).
- ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (2 July 2024). [TBA Tim Burton's 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' To Open Venice Film Festival].
- ↑ O'Rourke, Ryan (August 20, 2024). [TBA Tim Burton Was Never Tempted To Make Beetlejuice Anything but "Politically Incorrect"]. Collider.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedEWAug2024 - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Romano, Nick (March 20, 2024). [TBA "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice...Beetlejuice returns in first look at Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder"] Check
|url=value (help). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 20, 2024. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Romano, Nick (September 7, 2024). [TBA "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice scribe on writing the 'MacArthur Park' scene, that cameo, and more"] Check
|url=value (help). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 9, 2024. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Vivarelli, Nick (November 26, 2023). [TBA Willem Dafoe Back on Festival Trail in Marrakech, Talks 'Poor Things,' Reveals Role in 'Beetlejuice 2'].
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedauto - ↑ Kroll, Justin (December 4, 2023). [TBA Beetlejuice 2 Actor Arthur Conti Signs With WME].
- ↑ DiVincenzo, Alex (July 21, 2023). [TBA 'Beetlejuice 2' – We Visited the East Corinth, Vermont Filming Location of Tim Burton's Sequel].
- ↑ Smart, Jack (September 6, 2024). [TBA Jeffrey Jones Doesn't Return in Beetlejuice Sequel After His Controversy. Here's How the Movie Includes His Character].
- ↑ Masood, Areeba (September 6, 2024). [TBA Beetlejuice 2: Who Plays Charles Deetz? Why Jeffrey Jones Doesn't Return].
- ↑ [TBA Tim Burton Pitched 'Genius' Way to Kill Off Jeffrey Jones' Charles Deetz Character in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'] (en).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Romano, Nick (September 6, 2024). [TBA "Charles Deetz's fate in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice inspired by Tim Burton's worst nightmare (exclusive)"] Check
|url=value (help). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 6, 2024. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Sharf, Zack (March 11, 2024). [TBA Michael Keaton Watched 'Beetlejuice 2' and 'Wasn't Ready' for How Emotional It Gets, Says a 'Couple of Little Tweaks' Are Being Made: 'This Thing Is Great'].
- ↑ Murphy, Mathew (March 23, 2024). [TBA Original 'Beetlejuice' Star Won't Return for Sequel Despite Easter Egg Hint].
- ↑ Sloop, Hope (2024-04-11). [TBA Why Geena Davis Is Not in the 'Beetlejuice' Sequel (Exclusive)] (en-US).
- ↑ Andersson, Eric (2024-08-28). [TBA Tim Burton Explains Why Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis Aren't in the Beetlejuice Sequel (Exclusive)] (en-US).
- ↑ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Romano, Nick (September 6, 2024). [TBA "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice early draft featured Maitlands cameo — here's why it was cut (exclusive)"] Check
|url=value (help). Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 8, 2024. Check|archive-url=value (help) - ↑ Frei, Vincent (2024-03-22). [TBA Beetlejuice Beetlejuice] (fr-FR).
- ↑ [TBA 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'… Beetlejuice Returns with First Trailer] (en).
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedBOM - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNUM - ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedopening - ↑ [TBA Tim Burton Didn't Make 'Beetlejuice 2' to 'Do a Big Sequel for Money': 'I Didn't Even Watch the First Movie to Prepare']. Variety (August 28, 2024).
External links[]
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