After 36 years of waiting for a sequel to Tim Burton's beloved 1988 horror-comedy, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is finally in theaters. The follow-up reunites Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, and Michael Keaton as Lydia, Delia, and the Ghost with the Most, respectively – and welcomes a crop of new faces to the franchise, too.
With a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and having already earned $12 million through preview screenings, it seems to be going down fairly well with critics and fans alike already.
As Beetlejuice 2 continues to roll out on big screens worldwide, we've compiled all we know about the film, from when it released and its trailers, to those very first reactions and who's playing who. Essentially, it's your very own Handbook for the Recently Deceased. So, what are you waiting for, dust off your cockroach-encrusted fingers and get scrolling...
Beetlejuice 2 release date
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice came out in UK and US theaters on September 6. It was rumored to be releasing then for a good few months before it was confirmed via its first poster on February 1, 2024.
In it, you can see the grubby, white hands of the eponymous antagonist as he looks down at a ticket reel – you know, like the one the Maitlands rip their waiting room number from before meeting their Afterlife advisor. Between his thumbs reads '06,09,24', if you're in the UK, while the US version reads, '09,06,24'.
Beetlejuice 2 trailer
Warner Bros. unveiled the second Beetlejuice 2 trailer on July 18. The latest teaser is twice as long as the first trailer that we got back in March, giving fans a more in-depth look at Keaton's ghoulish return.
It opens with Jenna Ortega's Astrid dealing with some school bullies, and we learn that her mother, Lydia, has moved the family back to the haunted house from her teen years. As you can expect, this isn't the best idea and soon the trailer is filled with spooky incidents and Beetlejuice himself making a comeback.
In an effort to save her daughter from some supernatural upsets, Winona Ryder's character once again summons the specter. The unlikely team-up meets a bunch of colorful characters in the short clip, and promises a film that's just as fun as the first. Considering that the original Beetlejuice is one of the best horror movies ever made, that's high praise, too!
Beetlejuice 2 cast
While Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis aren't back as Adam and Barbara Maitland, the ghostly couple who hire Beetlejuice to get rid of the awful family that's moved into the home they "haunt," Michael Keaton returns as the original green-haired bio-exorcist in Beetlejuice 2.
Elsewhere, Catherine O'Hara is back as Delia Deetz, while Winona Ryder reprises the role of Delia's goth stepdaughter Lydia. In terms of newbies, Justin Theroux plays Rory, Monica Bellucci is Delores, who's a vengeful ex of Beetlejuice's, Willem Dafoe is actor-turned-ghost cop Wolf Jackson, and Wednesday star Jenna Ortega brings Lydia's daughter Astrid to life.
Danny DeVito also has a cameo in the movie, as a bleach-guzzling Afterlife janitor... There's a moment in the trailer where Bellucci's Delores lifts him off the floor by his neck and demands to know where Beetlejuice is.
Jeffrey Jones' likeness is used in a stop-motion sequence, which explains how Charles Deetz met his untimely end, though the actor himself doesn't appear in the film.
Beetlejuice 2 plot
In Beetlejuice (1988), the Maitlands' plan to have Beetlejuice scare the Deetzes out of their Connecticut home goes awry when the family learn of their existence. During a séance, Adam and Barbara appear dressed in their wedding clothes and suddenly start to age and decay. This frightens Lydia, who'd previously bonded with the pair over their shared dislike of her stepmother. Turns out, Delia's pal Otho (Glenn Shadix) accidentally performed an exorcism, so Lydia begs for Beetlejuice's help to stop and reverse the process.
The meanie agrees, but on one condition: Lydia marries him, so that he be granted the ability to wreak havoc in the mortal world. Thankfully, Adam and Barbara wind up saving Lydia, with the latter riding a giant sandworm through the house and getting it to eat Beetlejuice – as you do. The movie concludes with the Deetzes and the Maitlands living happily in the house all together.
Much of the sequel revolves around Beetlejuice trying to tie the knot with Lydia once and for all, having been shafted at the altar the first time around. The official synopsis reads as such: "Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened.
"With trouble brewing in both realms, it's only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice's name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem."
Burton, chatting to the BFI, opened up about his reasons for wanting to do Beetlejuice 2, explaining: "When I did this one, I didn't look at the first movie, because it didn't feel like it would help.
"I treated it just very much as a project where, after 35 years, the anchor for me is what happened to Lydia, what happened to the Deetz family? What happened to the living people? What happens to people we see at one stage in their life, then you see them many years later? What the f*ck happened to that person?" he continued, not acknowledging the non-canon animated series that premiered in 1989.
"What happened to [Delia]? What happened to [Delia's husband and Lydia's father] Charles? This is what interests me. This is what gives it an anchor for me. Where are these people after 35 years?"
"At its heart, Beetlejuice [2] is a story about a family," cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos told The Wrap, which seems to echo Burton's comments. "Now it's 30 years later and what are the intricacies and the human condition in keeping a family together all that time set in the craziest world possible?"
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review
The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 28, where it received a 4-minute standing ovation.
First reactions to the film were largely positive, with Deadline calling it "joyously macabre" and CinemaBlend's Mike Reyes using "bonkers, sweet, and twistedly funny" as a descriptor. Vulture called the pic a "welcome Jolt of the Old Tim Burton," adding the sequel felt like visiting an old friend.
Some critics were a bit less impressed. Variety wrote that the sequel "is just a lightweight riff on Beetlejuice – a piece of fan service, really." Our own Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review says it's "enjoyable, inventive, and fun, but thanks to a wayward narrative, this legacy sequel won’t live too long in the memory."
For more, check out our list of the greatest fantasy movies of all time.
