It’s always a tall order to recapture the specific magic of a cult-hit pic from the past, but the new official trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice shows a valiant effort. Coming to theaters on September 6 through Warner Bros. Pictures (36 years after the original Beetlejuice), Tim Burton’s follow-up reunites the original cast and introduces a new generation to the chaotic demon.
As Burton, known for creating and directing animated favorites The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride and Frankenweenie, told EW in March, the sequel “needed a back-to-basics, handmade quality” to do justice to the original. So, fans can expect old fashioned stop-motion effects in addition to creepy puppet characters, overseen by Oscar-winning creature effects and special makeup FX creative supervisor Neal Scanlan (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
Synopsis: 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.
Oscar nominee Michael Keaton returns to his iconic title role alongside Oscar nominee Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and two-time Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara (Schitt$ Creek, Corpse Bride) as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux (Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre, The Matrix films) and Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Emmy nominee Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, At Eternity’s Gate).
Burton directs from a screenplay by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Wednesday), story by Gough & Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith (The LEGO Batman Movie), based on characters created by Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson. The film’s producers are Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper and Burton, with Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gough, Millar, Brad Pitt, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick, Pete Chiappetta, Andrew Lary, Anthony Tittanegro, Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg executive producing.
The creative team includes director of photography Haris Zambarloukos (Meg 2: The Trench, Murder on the Orient Express), and previous Burton collaborators such as production designer Mark Scruton (Wednesday), editor Jay Prychidny (Wednesday), Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sleepy Hollow) and Oscar-nominated composer Danny Elfman (Big Fish, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman); as well as Oscar-winning hair and makeup designer Christine Blundell (Topsy-Turvy).
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will open domestically in theaters and IMAX on Sept. 6 and internationally from Sept. 4.
