It’s been quite a mouthful to keep saying, or even typing, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as the 2024 movie schedule has progressed. Though if I’m being honest, it’s never been an unwelcome title to utter, barring the potential invocation of the B-Man himself. That is doubly true after observing the generous outpouring of love through Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s first reactions, which in part has been dedicated to the wonderful chemistry between Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder. But perhaps the sweetest response to this mother/daughter hype comes from none other than Ms. Ryder herself.
Winona Ryder's Extremely Sweet Compliment To Jenna Ortega
Sitting down with the OG Beetlejuice cast member during out press day, I was on hand to hear how she highlighted the casting of the Wednesday star as important for why Beetlejuice 2 works so well. Half of the joy obviously comes from Ms. Ryder's happiness to get back to her iconic character.
Such feelings were previously set up when discussing her regret over the failure to launch a Heathers legacy-quel. While sharing those feelings with CinemaBlend, the door was open for Winona Ryder to provide these beautiful sentiments about making the long-awaited Tim Burton legacy-quel:
And now [that] I know, it’s like you’re spoiled. Like you never want to do this, unless it’s absolutely perfect. … And we also needed Jenna to be born, and grow up, because she is such a great [performer.] She's like the missing puzzle piece, I mean, she's so brilliant. She's so, so brilliant; and as [are] Monica, and Willem, and Justin. I mean, it was sort of a dream cast.
Playing Astrid and Lydia Deetz, Jenna Ortega and Winona Ryder represent two of the three generations of Deetz women mourning the loss of the late Charles. The usual complications arise on two fronts, generating a sort of cascade effect that bathes in the awkward sweetness Beetlejuice had traded in as one of the best ‘80s movies.
Just as Ryder was pushing for a new Beetlejuice chapter, director Tim Burton actually wanted to return to that world as a creative type. Ultimately, the idea that would help him put it all into motion with the rest of his team was wanting to return to Lydia and answering the question of what her potential adventures in motherhood might look like. That query would land her with the ultimate skeptic, questioning the abilities that made the first film possible on every level.
While Astrid questions whether her mother’s gifts of seeing the dead are actually real, Lydia continues to clash with her avant-garde stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara). So rather than merely shift the focus of familial strife towards the next generation, some vintage feelings of discontent from the past also become a part of the formula that eventually sees Beetlejuice 2's cast facing off against Michael Keaton's titular menace.
It’s all done with love, of course, and when marveling at the three Deetz women on display, Jenna Ortega’s role does complete a trinity of varying degrees of normalcy just waiting to be shattered. But just as Winona Ryder is convinced that her on-screen daughter was a key component to the success of this legacy-quel, so too was director Tim Burton.
Tim Burton’s Feelings On Why Jenna Ortega Is Important To Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Another part of the press tour for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice saw myself and several other journalists speaking with the man himself in a roundtable experience. As Tim Burton sat amid a handful of us professional busybodies, he held court by answering questions about why this picture took so long, and Beetlejuice 2's wild development of several endings to potentially close out this tale.
Among those questions was an ask about how apparently Jenna Ortega’s humor is so dark that it even surprised the man who made Batman Returns. Speaking to that point, and how it connects to her casting in Warner Bros’ latest seasonal delight, Tim Burton told us all the following:
Well, that's why she was Wednesday, because she is Wednesday. That's why there's no question about that at all. But she's really integral to this because she's our entrance into this [world]. She's kind of the anchor of the film, you know, it is actually really a story about her, if you really want to boil it down, you know, her and her mother. She's a really beautiful addition. Like I said, I had the beauty of Michael, and Catherine, and Winona. And then I have the beauty of Jenna and the other cast members, Willem, Monica, [and] Justin, that really became part of a weird family.
A feeling of “family” is something that most movies strive to put on the table when promoting a project like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. However, as you can see with Winona Ryder and Tim Burton’s reactions above, that notion is the real deal. Nowhere is that more clear than with the love and respect than in the warm welcome to the Afterlife that Jenna Ortega has received, as we approach her huge debut in this iconic universe.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be on the loose in theaters starting on September 6th. So if you want to flash back to the past, don’t forget that the original Beetlejuice is still streaming through a Max subscription. And if you want to get an extra dose of nostalgia, you can check out the entirety of Beetlejuice: The Animated Series, as it’s now available in its entirety on Tubi.
