Stranger Things’ Winona Ryder Had One Condition for Joining the Netflix Series

Actor Winona Ryder was a staple of a number of classic genre films, including Heathers, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejuice, but she was introduced to an entirely fresh generation of audiences when she joined Stranger Things. Despite not being entirely aware of what “streaming” meant, Ryder recently recalled how she maintained true to her earliest collaborators, noting that she only agreed to take on the role of Joyce Byers in the Netflix series if creators Matt and Ross Duffer would grant her time away from the project if Tim Burton ever decided to move forward with a Beetlejuice sequel. While it took nearly a decade after that agreement for that sequel to actually happen, the Duffers honored that deal ahead of filming the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.

“At the time, Tim and I were talking about the Beetlejuice sequel,” Ryder shared with Harper’s Bazaar. “There have been moments over the last 15 years that we thought it was gonna happen but, again, that’s a thing that it had to be perfect with everybody in order for it to happen. But I remember, in my first meeting with the Duffer brothers, I said, ‘As long as, if Beetlejuice 2 happens, you let me go do that,’ and they agreed. Luckily, it worked out. That was my one condition.”

When Stranger Things was released, Ryder was easily the most famous name attached to the project, with the merits of the storytelling itself ultimately being what launched the project’s popularity into becoming one of the biggest TV shows of the past decade. Ryder understandably couldn’t have predicted the project would be such a hit, especially given that she signed on after only reading the first episode.

“She is a character that I’m literally on my tenth year playing her. Absolute first for me, to play a character for that long,” the actor confessed. “It was a huge — to say yes to one episode, they only gave me the pilot episode. I didn’t, at the time, know what streaming was. It was terrifying in that regard.”

Having starred in projects like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Little Women, and Alien: Resurrection, Ryder is no stranger to taking on high-profile roles in beloved projects, but the upcoming Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will mark the first time she’s reviving a character she helped create.

Stay tuned for updates on the final season of Stranger Things. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice lands in theaters on September 6th.

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