The “ghost with the most” is back, baby, as the long-delayed, long-awaited, legacy sequel to Beetlejuice hoves into view, reuniting stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O’ Hara, and, yes, Michael Keaton under the stewardship of original director Tim Burton. We were pretty excited until that last bit.
When is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice being released in New Zealand?
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be haunting New Zealand cinemas from September 5.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
What is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice about?
I dunno, Beetlejuice comes back. Is the animated series in canon, that’s what we want to know. That was a minor gem.
Okay, in a little more detail: following the death of family dad Charles Deetz (bullet dodged) now-adult Lydia, mum Delia, Lydia’s husband Rory, and their kid Astrid move back to the country town of Winter River. Here, perhaps inevitably, rebellious Astrid opens a portal to the afterlife and once again the anarchic bio-exorcist Beetlejuice is summoned to our plane. Kids, hey?
The cast of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Returning to the fold we have Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice; Winona Ryder as Lydia; and the magnificent Catherine O’Hara as Delia. Plus there’s newcomers Justin Theroux as Rory; Burton squeeze Monica Bellucci as Delores, Betelgeuse’s ex-wife; Willem Dafoe as ghost private detective Wolf Jackson; Burn Gorman and Danny DeVito. And, in a piece of casting that’s either masterful or a bit too obvious, Jenna Ortega plays Lydia’s daughter, Wednes- we mean Astrid.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer
Why we’re excited about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
We are not immune to the insidious charms of nostalgia, so while we side-eye some of the more obvious calls back to the original film (that face gag has cobwebs on it), it’s a thrill seeing these characters again. Keaton looks like he’s having a grand old time, and Burton’s gifts as a visual stylist remain intact. His gifts as a storyteller, though? Hard to say – he’s been patchy at best for years. But, you know, maybe he’s due for a win. We can but hope.
