Following the overwhelming success of Netflix’s Wednesday, Jenna Ortega may well be settling nicely into the Tim Burton family. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the young starlet is currently in negotiations for a role in Beetlejuice 2, which will reportedly see the return of Michael Keaton.
The announcement comes as Scream VI lands in theatres with positive fan reception and the potential to become the top-grossing entry in the franchise’s long-running history. If the talks go through, Ortega is expected to play the daughter of Lydia, whom Winona Ryder portrayed in the original. It will also mark her reunion with Burton, who directed Wednesday.
Burton, who helmed the 1998 film, is expected to direct. No production date has been set yet, but Warner Bros., the studio behind the feature, is eyeing a shoot in late May or early June this year. Apart from Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jordan, Catherine O’Hara all starred in the original film.
A Beetlejuice sequel has long been in gestation. After a tease in 2011, Keaton admitted to being in talks with Burton in 2014, three years before a follow-up was confirmed. The same year, a script for Beetlejuice 2 reportedly underwent a rewrite, and in 2022, news surfaced that Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B will be reviving the movie.
With Ortega in sights, things are finally looking bright for this cult classic.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
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