Summer hasn’t even arrived yet, but the spooky season vibes are living and thriving thanks to anticipation for Tim Burton’s return to afterlife shenanigans with the upcoming sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which has finally dropped its first full-length trailer for horror-comedy fans around the world (and beyond). It’s a step six feet up from the easter egg-filled teaser promo, and I still can’t believe it’s real.
Few upcoming horror movies have the bonafides of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, thanks to the original 1988 hit that turned black-and-white suits into a Halloween mainstay. And here’s hoping the sequel 36 years in the making will be worth the wait. Not that B. would realize it, since time works a little differently in the afterlife. He still looks great, except for maybe when his face does that thing that makes people faint.
Even if the trailer would have been a big honking mess, I’m pretty sure fans would still line up in droves to see Michael Keaton back in black and white for a smorgas-corpse of ghoulish humor and puns better than the one I just lobbed out there. Keaton previously hyped up the movie as being “really fucking good,” and I’m not gonna be the one to say he’s wrong. Because the trailer looks flipping perfect.
So many callbacks to the good ol’ days, from the striped sandworms of Saturn (and some sweet-looking animation) to Lydia’s father Charles, whose death is what kicks off this return to glory for the ghost with the most to the familiarly tiny head of Harry the Hunter.
And check out this shot of Catherine O’Hara within the drudgery of the afterlife’s waiting room, where she’s sat next to a pair of….let’s just call them interesting gents.
Beyond Keaton being back in all his gruff-voiced glory, the new pic brings Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara back as daughter Lydia and mother Delia Deetz, respectively, with Jenna Ortega joining the fray as the generational third, Astrid. Other co-stars include Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci (as Beetlejuice’s sewn-up wife), Willem Dafoe and Burn Gorman. And wait a minute, who’s this surprising new cast member? It’s Danny DeVito, boyeeeeee!
Batman and The Penguin are back together again! Or at least Michael Keaton and DeVito are, even if they’re not in the signature costumes they wore for Tim Burton’s superhero sequel. This thing can’t get more perfect, unless Michelle Pfeiffer is hiding somewhere.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — which was nearly given the oddball homage title Beetlejuice 2024 A.D., which is legit name-checked on the title screen — is set to rise up into theaters on Friday, September 6, among many other big summer blockbusters hitting the 2024 movie schedule.