Following last night's brief teaser, we were expecting the first trailer for Tim Burton's long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (does it count if you only type his name three times) to be released today, but it seems Warner Bros. decided to hold off.
The trailer should be with us on Thursday, but in the meantime, EW has released the first official promo images spotlighting new and returning characters.
The stills feature Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), her mother Delia (Catherine O'Hara) and daughter Astrid (new cast member Jenna Ortega), who return to the town of Winter River after a death in the family (most likely Charles Deetz, played by the late Jeffrey Jones).
Of course, we also have a first look at the titular Ghost with the Most (Michael Keaton), and based on what we've heard, the ever-scheming bio-exorcist still has designs on "winning" Lydia's hand in marriage.
"He just got back into it," Burton says of Keaton reprising the role after so many years. "It was kind of scary for somebody who was maybe not that overly interested in doing it. It was such a beautiful thing for me to see all the cast, but he, sort of like demon possession, just went right back into it."
"Unless it felt right, he had no burning desire to do it," Burton adds. "I think we all felt the same way. It only made sense if it had an emotional hook."
Burton also confirmed an earlier report that the sequel will utilize stop-motion animation and practical FX over CGI. "It needed a back-to-basics, handmade quality," he says. "It reenergized why I love making movies."
Check out the stills (via EW) at the link below.
"After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return to the small Vermont town of Winter River. Paranormal empath, Lydia Deetz, begins to see the lecherous demon Beetlejuice, who haunted her as a teenager. His plans to finally marry Lydia are given extra urgency when his dead wife comes to life and begins to stalk the Afterlife hunting for him. Meanwhile, Lydia’s teenage daughter embarks on a romance with a local teen."
Other new cast members include Monica Bellucci as Betelgeuse's wife, Willem Dafoe as an afterlife cop, and Justin Theroux as a character named Rory, whose exact involvement is being kept under wraps.
Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar penned the script.
Beetlejuice 2 is set to release in theaters on Sept. 6, 2024.