As Beetlejuice returns this year for its sequel with most of its original cast reprising their previous roles, Geena Davis dampened fans’ hearts as she announced her absence from the upcoming film. “No, I’m not. I’m not in the remake,” the 68-year-old told Entertainment Tonight last Thursday. “Oh, you were expecting that I would be? Yeah, no.”
Geena played the ghost Barbara Maitland, who Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz sees in the 1988 fantasy horror movie. However, she will not be back for part two “because my theory is that ghosts don’t age…not that I have,” she humorously quipped.
Why is Geena Davis not in the ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel?
While speaking with the outlet, Geena said their “characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it’s been a while, it’s been a minute,” after which she admitted to not seeing the trailer yet. “I heard the trailer came out and somebody said they were crying, so I have to see the trailer,” she added.
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Director Tim Burton, who was also behind the original said he “really enjoyed” working with the cast and crew— both old and new. Among the reappearing faces is Michael Keaton, who is back as Beetlejuice, and shares similar excitement with Burton. “‘Beetlejuice’ is the most f–king fun you can have working. It’s so fun, it’s so great. And you know what it is? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie,” the 72-year-old gushed.
Joining Michael Keaton is Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, and Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega who stars as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid Deetz. Catherine shared her thoughts about working with new co-stars at CinemaCon, saying it was “delightful to actually get the call from Tim.”
“The characters have evolved— not ‘Beetlejuice,’ but the rest of us,” she noted.
Burton shared the same sentiment as Catherine, saying he “tried to strip everything and go back to the basics of working with good people and actors and puppets” while creating the much-anticipated sequel. “It was kind of like going back to why I liked making movies,” the multiple award-winning director gushed.