Summary

• Beetlejuice 2 is finally gaining ground after a 30-year gap, and costume designer Colleen Atwood teases that the movie will pay homage to the original while showing how the characters have evolved.
• Despite several failed attempts to revive the franchise, the 30-year gap may actually benefit Beetlejuice 2 by creating anticipation and allowing new creative minds to be involved.
• With the return of original stars Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, as well as the addition of new talent like Jenna Ortega, the sequel promises to be a worthwhile follow-up to the beloved original.

As the sequel is finally gaining ground after much stalled development, costume designer Colleen Atwood teases how Beetlejuice 2 will address the 30-year gap since the original movie. Tim Burton is back to direct the long-awaited sequel to his 1988 classic and is bringing back original stars Michael Keaton as the eponymous bio-exorcist, as well as Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara. Burton has also expanded the Beetlejuice 2 cast with a number of big names, including Jenna Ortega as Ryder's daughter, Monica Bellucci as Betelgeuse's wife and Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe in undisclosed roles.

During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant for Netflix's Pain Hustlers, Atwood offered an update on Beetlejuice 2. The costume designer teased that the sequel is packed full of homages to Burton's beloved original movie and hinted at how it will address the 30-year gap between the two stories. See what Atwood shared below:

Well, you're gonna see some old friends in the costume world. There's a real homage to Beetlejuice, the original, and then you'll see you the journey that those people have made in the 30 years since Beetlejuice, it's been a while. So, it's a fun process, I think the audience is gonna love it, it's really fun.

How The Beetlejuice 2 Sequel Gap Actually Benefits The Movie

Burton has been tooling with the idea of a Beetlejuice sequel for the better part of 30 years, having first toyed with the infamous Goes Hawaiian pitch in which Keaton's character would follow the Deetz family to Hawaii to help them defeat an ancient Kahuna spirit. The director partnered with future Mars Attacks! collaborator Jonathan Gems to script the project, with Keaton and Ryder agreeing to return as long as Burton was back at the helm, though the project ultimately fell apart when the filmmaker and star became busy with Batman Returns.

The years since have seen a variety of stabs made at reviving the property, and while a bigger gap between sequels can sometimes spell doom for a franchise, the 30 years waited for Beetlejuice 2 looks to actually be working in the movie's favor. Though still utilizing the story concept from Dark Shadows writer Seth Grahame-Smith, Burton has turned to his Wednesday showrunners Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to pen the script for the sequel. Much like the sequel, Burton had been attached to various Addams Family projects throughout the years before finally coming on board the Netflix show as director and executive producer, which proved to be a comeback for the filmmaker.

In addition to reuniting with Gough and Millar, the addition of Ortega and Beetlejuice 2 makes for a worthwhile follow-up to the original movie. Set photos have already teased Ortega's character being a drastic opposite to both Wednesday and Ryder's Lydia, not only allowing the young breakout star to avoid typecasting concerns, but also repeat Burton's similar trick with Ryder in Edward Scissorhands. Though production is currently on hold for the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Burton has confirmed that filming is "99% done", leaving the possibility for it to make its October 2023 release, lining up with the original's 25th anniversary.