Hey, did one of you say Beetlejuice three times? Because the new trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice just dropped, and- wait a second, we just said Beetlejuice three times. Four, now! Either way, it’s worked – Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel is finally arriving later this year, and a brand new trailer not only gets the whole gang back together (Michael Keaton! Winona Ryder! Catherine O’Hara!), but gives us our best look yet at the newcomers too (Jenna Ortega! Monica Bellucci! Willem Dafoe! Justin Theroux!). All that, and it’s packed with visuals that hark back to Burton’s beloved original film, including stop-motion-styled effects and puppetry. It looks like one hell of a party:
The bio-exorcist is well and truly back – and for all the intervening decades, Michael Keaton looks to be fitting back into the Beetlejuice (five, now) stripes with ease. It’s a joy, too, to see Ryder returning as Lydia Deetz – now with a daughter in tow, Jenna Ortega’s Astrid, who unwittingly unleashes Beetlejuice (six!) back onto the Deetz family. Also new to the fray is Willem Dafoe’s undead Wolf Jackson, Monica Bellucci’s face-stapled Delores, and Justin Theroux’s preening Rory – though how exactly they all factor into the plot here remains to be seen. Most pleasingly for long-term Beetlejuice (seven!) devotees, the sandworm void is returning, as is the title character’s propensity for unleashing unfathomable horrors from the middle of his face.
Here’s the official 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.” For anyone keeping score, that’s now 10 Beetlejuice mentions. Make that 11.
The sequel is penned by Wednesday writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar, and comes to UK cinemas on 6 September. Here’s hoping, all these years later, that Tim Burton still has the ‘juice, and that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice lives up to Beetlejuice. 14!