Beetlejuice 2 to star Jenna Ortega and Michael Keaton, release in 2024

A 36-year waiting period for a follow up to a much loved film has worked wonders for many. Maverick, Top GunWarner Bros. is surely hoping that they can repeat this trick. Beetlejuice 2. The sequel to 1988’s horror comedy, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, is set to begin production in 2024.

As previously reported, original director Tim Burton is back on board, along with stars Michael Keaton as the titular impish demon and Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz — the teenager in the first movie who moved into a haunted house and conspired with ghosts to summon Beetlejuice. Wednesday star Jenna Ortega will take on the role of Lydia’s daughter, and indeed the production is as much of a Wednesday The reunion is a Beetlejuice one — the script is from Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and Burton directed the first half of the show’s first season.

There is only one more casting revealed. Leftovers’ Justin Theroux, in an undisclosed role.

The original movie, which inspired an animated series, a stage musical, and a terrible video game, made Burton’s name in Hollywood and impressed Warner Bros. enough that the studio entrusted him with the 1989 Batman. It’s a riot, perhaps Burton’s most successful pairing of his gothic visuals with his sweet tooth for comedy, memorably assisted by an absolutely manic Keaton performance and the infectious calypso tunes of the late, great Harry Belafonte. It’s streaming now on Hulu.