‘Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega May Star in ‘Beetlejuice 2’

Jenna Ortega is a cornerstone of one big Hollywood legacyquel franchise, so how about another. The same weekend that Scream VI, which stars Ortega as one of Ghostface’s latest opponents, Tara Carpenter, comes word that Ortega is close to signing on for Beetlejuice 2, the long-discussed sequel to the ’80s horror comedy classic starring Michael Keaton and Tim Burton.

If reports are to be believed, both Tim Burton and Michael Keaton are involved in this sequel. And Ortega already knows Burton well; he directed several episodes of the hit Netflix series Wednesday, which starred Ortega as the title character, and became one of the streaming service’s biggest TV series ever when it debuted there last fall.

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According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ortega is “circling a role” in the Beetlejuice sequel. They add:

Tim Burton, who helmed the 1988 film starring Michael Keaton, is expected to direct, with Keaton returning as well, according to sources. Production is eying a late May or early June shoot in London, but budget has not been set, resulting in a back and forth. If a deal is made, sources say Ortega would play the daughter of Lydia, the character played by Winona Ryder in the original.

As early as 1990, attempts have been made to mount a sequel to Beetlejuice, which starred Keaton as a “bioexorcist” (really just a ghost who enjoys pestering both the living and the dead) who offers to help a couple of ghosts (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) get rid of the new family who has moved into their house. For a long time there was a Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script floating around Hollywood; in the 2010s, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter writer Seth Grahame-Smith took a stab at writing a sequel. In recent years, the talks of a sequel emerged yet again, this time with both Keaton and Burton interested in returning.

Beetlejuice 2 does not have an official release date as of this writing.