Tim Burton's Beetlejuice 2 will see the return of both Michael Keaton as the titular Ghost with the Most and Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, but the long-awaited sequel will also feature several exciting new cast additions, including Willem Dafoe.
Previous reports have indicated that the Shadow of the Vampire star would play an "afterlife cop," and Dafoe confirmed as much during an interview with Variety, while also sharing some intriguing new details on his character.
"I haven’t seen any footage yet, but it was fun to do," Dafoe said of shooting the horror comedy sequel. "I play a police officer in the afterlife, so I’m a dead person. And in life I was a B-movie action star, but I had an accident and that’s what sent me to the other side. But because of my skills, I became a detective character in the afterlife. So that’s my job. But it’s colored by the fact of who I was [when I was alive]: a B movie action star."
Beetlejuice 2 recently wrapped production, and you can check out some set videos below.
Keaton spoke about returning as the manic Bio-Exorcist in a recent interview with Empire.
"Beetlejuice is the most f--kin’ fun you can have working. It’s so fun, it’s so great. And you know what it is? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie," he says. "There’s a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line – I want people to know this because I love it – tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move."
"[Burton] and I were talking about it years and years ago, never telling anybody," he continued. "I said, ‘if it happens, first of all, we’ve both said we’re doing it many times. We both agreed, if it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time. Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something. F--kin’ great. It’s the most fun I’ve had working on a movie in I can’t tell you how long."
Catherine O'Hara is also set to reprise her role as Lydia's mother, Delia Deetz. Other new cast members include Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz, Monica Bellucci as Betelgeuse's wife, and Justin Theroux in an undisclosed role.
Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar penned the script.
Beetlejuice 2 is set to release in theaters on Sept. 6, 2024.