What Original 'Beetlejuice' Cast Members Are Returning for the Sequel? Absences Explained

You might be able to say Beetlejuice’s name three times and he’ll appear to star in a sequel, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the cast will. But who exactly is missing, and what does Tim Burton have to say about their absence? Well, we got to the bottom of it, and the answers are spooky enough to scare Beetlejuice himself. 

Why Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis aren’t in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ 

Originally released in 1988, Beetlejuice quickly became a cult classic. The film starred Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Jeffrey Jones, Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder. And now, years later, the much-anticipated sequel is finally hitting theaters on September 6, 2024. 

Fans were quick to notice though that stars Alec Baldwin and Davis were not involved in the film, however, with Burton offering an explanation as to why.  

“I think the thing was for me I didn't want to just tick any boxes. So even though they were such an amazing integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else,” Burton told PEOPLE. “A sequel like this, it really had to do with the time. That was my hook into it, the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. And that [would] be the nucleus of it. I couldn't have made this personally back in 1989 or whatever.” 

In the original film, Baldwin and Davis played the deceased married couple the Maitlands, who haunt the old home that the Deetz family (O’Hara, Ryder and Jones) eventually moved in to. 

All About ‘Beetlejuice 2’  

Even with Baldwin and Davis’ absences, the rest of the cast and crew is excited for moviegoers to finally see the film. 

"It's truly very personal and emotional and special," Burton said. "It's like a weird big home movie for me."

 "And if people don't like it, then f--- them,” O’Hara added. 

The plot will follow the Deetz family as they move back into their own house, but this time it’s Lydia’s (Ryder) daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) who befriends the spooky, scary Beetlejuice (Keaton). 

Ortega is best known for her work in the hit Netflix show Wednesday and, according to her co-star Keaton, “She just got it. She just said, 'Oh I got it. I know what the tone is.' It would be very easy for someone to get very excited about this and maybe do more, but she just got it."

But even though Keaton loved her, Ortega didn’t always feel the same way. 

“He [Keaton] came up behind meI was getting a hair and makeup test, and I got a tap on the shoulder and I turned around and it was a jump scare for sure. He was like, ‘Oh hey I’m Michael,’ and he had molds peeling off his face,” Ortega recalled. “I played it cool and then it was cool until I met him for a second time out of hair and makeup because I introduced myself again because I forgot that I had already met him.” 

That spooky movement didn’t deter her, though, and Ortega is ready for people to see the film, especially the relationship between her and her on-screen mom Lydia (Ryder). 

Says Ortega, “The relationship between Lydia 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.”

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