'Beetlejuice 2' Targeted For Fall 2024 Release, Jenna Ortega To Star Opposite Michael Keaton

After years of development limbo, "Beetlejuice 2" is finally happening. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 classic is targeted for a September 2024 release. Jenna Ortega will reportedly star in the sequel opposite Michael Keaton, who will reprise his titular role from the original.

THR reports that Ortega will portray the daughter of Lydia Deetz, Winona Ryder's character, in the first film. The sequel was written by "Wednesday" co-creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. "The Addams Family" television reboot also stars Ortega as Wednesday Addams. "Beetlejuice" director Tim Burton also served as the show's executive producer and directed multiple episodes.

Marvel Studios previously held the date Warner Bros. Discovery picked. However, Marvel Studios opted to pause the production of "Blade" due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike before the film was back on track to start shooting. So, "Blade" might no longer make its targeted release date. With "Blade" now on pause, it looks like Warner Bros. is expecting the Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot will have to move dates.

The 1988 film starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, and Catherine O'Hara. Davis and Baldwin starred as a happily married couple who tragically died in a car accident, and they seek to scare away the family who moves into their country home. Ryder portrayed Lydia Deetz, the daughter of the Deetz family who moves in. She befriends the ghostly Maitlands. Keaton portrays Betelguese, an undead spirit of sorts who claims to be a freelance bio-exorcist who offers to "exorcise" the Deetzes from the Maitlands home.

The original film was a hit, launching Burton's mainstream directing career. It later helped him get the green light on the 1989 "Batman" film, in which he cast Keaton to star in the role of The Dark Knight, Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. While the film has yet to receive a sequel, it did spawn a popular animated series and musical based on the film.

The "Beetlejuice" sequel has been kicked around Hollywood for years. It looks to finally be happening with Ortega, fresh off a starring role in every successful back-to-back "Scream" sequels and "Wednesday," attached to the star. THR also reports that the film is looking to shoot later this summer in London. Burton is also expected to return to direct the sequel.

Keaton is also set to reprise his Batman/Bruce Wayne role from the Burton films later this summer in Warner Bros. and DC's "The Flash." This will be Keaton's first time portraying Batman since Burton's 1992 film, "Batman Returns," released almost 31 years ago. Last year, Keaton won his first Primetime Emmy Award for his performance in the Hulu limited series, "Dopesick," which earned him Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Keaton also produced the acclaimed limited series, nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

"Beetlejuice 2" is slated to arrive in theaters on September 6, 2024.