Beetlejuice 2 Star Jenna Ortega Confirms Rumors of Her Role in Tim Burton's Sequel
Jenna Ortega confirms her Beetlejuice 2 role is the daughter of Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz.
Beetlejuice 2 star Jenna Ortega is making cementing fans' hopes for the Beetlejuice sequel (officially titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) by confirming her role in the film is indeed that of Lydia Deetz's daughter, Astrid. Tade reports have long stated that Ortega was playing Lydia's daughter – especially after set photos dropped showing Ortega standing alongside original Beetlejuice movie star (and current Stranger Things star) Winona Ryder. However, this is the first official confirmation we're getting from the actress herself.
"I don't know how much I'm allowed to say, but I am Lydia Deetz's daughter, so I'll give that away," she told Vanity Fair in a recent interview "She's weird, but in a different way and not in the way you'd assume, I would say. The relationship between Lydia (Ryder) and Astrid, my character, is very important. And it's also really strange because it's a lot of catching up and putting the pieces together of what's gone on in Lydia's life since, which is nice, I think, for anybody who loves the character and is excited to see her again."
It's easy to imagine that Lydia Deetz has had some trouble in life, since the events of the first Beetlejuice. It was Lydia's weird disposition that gave her the unique ability to see ghosts like Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis); that's fine when you're a Goth teen, but growing into adult and parenthood with that kind of insight into the supernatural – or its presence in your life wouldn't be all that enjoyable – or great for your mental health. One can only imagine what a Gen Z child raised by Lydia would become – but Jenna Ortega is about to take us there.
Beetlejuice 2 Is Gonna Get Weird For Kids
Ortega also stated in her VF interview that she's excited to be working on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice because it's bringing back a wave of content that's weird and different and even a little scary – enough to get them out of their phones and tablets and make them pay attention.
"I feel like studios nowadays, of course, they want people in seats and you've got to do reboots or sequels or things like that to get people entwined," Ortega said, before adding that "to bring 'Beetlejuice' back – of all of the stories – is so good because people need to revisit weird, strange, off-putting stories again. We need to introduce the younger generation that's always on the phone to new artistic and creative ideas. The weirder you get with it, the more people you can get to see it, I think will probably do a lot for film in general."
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will bring back original film stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara and Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. Joining the cast are Jenna Ortega as Lydia's daughter Astrid, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, and Justin Theroux. Dafoe previously teased that he is playing a police officer in the afterworld, so it sounds as though Keaton's Beetlejuice won't be the only eccentric ghost featured in the follow-up. The rest of the plot details are still unknown.
Beetlejuice 2: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to be released in theaters on September 6th.