Wednesday lead Jenna Ortega has been offered a major role in the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton's Beetlejuice.
As initially reported by industry insider Jeff Sneider and subsequently confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, Ortega is in talks to play the daughter of Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz in the Beetlejuice sequel, which is back on after over a decade of delays. Additionally, Sneider reports that Beetlejuice 2 will see the return of Michael Keaton, who played the titular bio-exorcist in the original movie; Catherine O'Hara, who starred as Delia Deetz; and Ryder herself. THR confirms that Burton is expected to return to the director's chair.
Released in 1988, Beetlejuice remains a cult classic for countless fans of the horror genre. The movie captured the adventures of a deceased couple who return to haunt their former home as ghosts, summoning the devious Betelgeuse (Keaton) from the Netherworld to scare away its inhabitants. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis played the couple in the original movie, with Davis publicly expressing interest in coming back for the follow-up. Beetlejuice grossed $74.7 million globally on a $15 million budget, notching an Academy Award for Best Makeup, as well as three Saturn Awards. Burton has been non-committal when asked about Beetlejuice 2, though it was confirmed last February that it was in the early stages of development at Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B. The last known attempt at a sequel before this one was the planned Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian film which Burton and company tried to develop in the 1990s before the director's priorities changed.
Jenna Ortega Is a Star on the Rise
Ortega's star in Hollywood has been shining very bright thanks to her role as Wednesday Addams on Netflix's Wednesday, of which Burton directed multiple episodes. The Addams Family spinoff series attracted record viewership numbers for Netflix, becoming the second-most watched English language TV show in the streaming service's history, only trailing Stranger Things Season 4. The fantasy series also set Nielsen streaming records and received a pair of nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, including a Best Actress nod for Ortega.
Ortega will reprise her acclaimed role in Season 2 of Wednesday, which was confirmed with a "thank you" video from the actor this past January. Meanwhile, Ortega will star as Tara Carpenter in Scream VI, the sixth film in the popular Scream slasher franchise, which is set to open in theaters on March 10. Ortega's Carpenter and fellow survivors of the Ghostface killings in Woodsboro flee to New York City to start a new life in Scream VI, only to meet a similar fate when a new killer emerges and goes on a bloody rampage.
While Beetlejuice 2 does not yet have a release date, Wednesday Season 1 is available to stream on Netflix.
Source: Twitter; The Hollywood Reporter