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Jenna Ortega likely to star in Tim Burton’s “BEETLEJUICE 2”

Thursday, March 9, 2023 | News

By MICHAEL GINGOLD

Well, this was probably inevitable.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jenna Ortega is in talks to star in BEETLEJUICE 2, Tim Burton’s sequel to his 1988 breakout horror/comedy. Michael Keaton will return in the title role, with Ortega playing the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz character from the original. The project is currently set to roll in London in late May or early June, though a budget has not yet been settled with Warner Bros., which is producing.

Ortega is, of course, already part of the Burton family, starring in the filmmaker’s Netflix series WEDNESDAY. “It’s been quite an insane experience,” she told the Reporter about working with the filmmaker. “I’ve been lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with an iconic director who just so happens to be one of the sweetest directors I’ve worked with, and also the most detail-oriented.” The actor has become a rising genre star thanks to her roles in Ti West’s X, last year’s SCREAM and the just-opening SCREAM VI; she’s also a die-hard horror fan, and recently shared her very well-judged list of favorite scare flicks with IndieWire.

Michael Gingold
Michael Gingold (RUE MORGUE's Head Writer) has been covering the world of horror cinema for over three decades, and in addition to his work for RUE MORGUE, he has been a longtime writer and editor for FANGORIA magazine and its website. He has also written for BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH, SCREAM, IndieWire.com, TIME OUT, DELIRIUM, MOVIEMAKER and others. He is the author of the AD NAUSEAM books (1984 Publishing) and THE FRIGHTFEST GUIDE TO MONSTER MOVIES (FAB Press), and he has contributed documentaries, featurettes and liner notes to numerous Blu-rays, including the award-winning feature-length doc TWISTED TALE: THE UNMAKING OF "SPOOKIES" (Vinegar Syndrome).