Beetlejuice 2 Wraps Filming After SAG-AFTRA Strike

With the SAG-AFTRA strike officially over, filming on Beetlejuice 2 was able to wrap up. The sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 film was many of the Hollywood projects impacted by both the writers’ and actors’ strikes. Beetlejuice 2 brings back original stars Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder, who are joined by newcomers Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and Justin Theroux. Since both the writers and actors have resolved their respective strikes, this has allowed Beetlejuice 2 to get on with the business of filming, which it only had a few more days to do.

“Just finished shooting Beetlejuice. Thank you to everyone involved,” director Tim Burton wrote in an Instagram post. He also shared a photo of himself relaxing on a couch on the Beetlejuice 2 set. The movie began filming in May, right as the writers’ strike was starting up. Beetlejuice 2‘s script comes from Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Coincidentally, filming paused on Beetlejuice 2 in September when the film only had two more days to complete its work.

“I feel grateful we got what we got,” Tim Burton told The Independent in September. “Literally, it was a day and a half. We know what we have to do. It is 99 percent done.” 

“On this last one, Beetlejuice 2, I really enjoyed it,” Burton added. “I tried to strip everything and go back to the basics of working with good people and actors and puppets. It was kind of like going back to why I liked making movies.”

Tim Burton praises Wednesday and Beetlejuice 2 star Jenna Ortega

Along with being the creative force behind the Beetlejuice franchise, Tim Burton also revitalized The Addams Family with the spinoff series Wednesday on Netflix. Jenna Ortega played the titular Wednesday, and is also joining Beetlejuice 2 as Winona Ryder’s grown-up daughter, Lydia. Burton recently shared praise for Ortega after working with her on Wednesday.

“When I did Wednesday, the reason I loved it is I just related to the character so much,” Burton told BFI. “But to me, it could not have been done without her. You can write it good, you can do whatever you want to do, but that kind of a character would need such clarity and purity and strength. A person has to have that. So for me, she basically made the show that way. She’s one of the most aware, not only as an actress, but everything, around the camera, the set. She’s a very special talent. And she’s done a lot of horror movies, which I love too. That gave her a special place in my heart. ‘Oh, you’re doing another horror. Good.’” 

Beetlejuice 2 is scheduled for a September 6, 2024 release, though that is up in the air as Warner Bros. contemplates its 2024 calendar schedule.