Jenna Ortega says filming Beetlejuice 2 made Tim Burton 'happy'

The actress talks about her reunion with the director of Wednesday.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will be released on September 4, 2024, and while waiting for a first teaser, Jenna Ortega reveals some details of the filming in the pages of Vanity Fair. The young actress was chosen by Tim Burton to play Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Lydia (Winona Ryder) and granddaughter of Delia (Catherine O'Hara) in this sequel still directed by the same filmmaker, 36 years after the release of the first opus. And also worn by Michael Keaton, back in the striped costume of the eccentric bio-exorcist.

This new version is written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the authors of the series Wednesday on which Jenna had previously been directed by Burton. But according to the actress, the filmmaker was happier on the set of the film than on that of the Netflix series… However, they already seemed to be having fun there:

“This shoot was a celebration of the fact that everyone was coming back to shoot with real effects, like back in the day, she says about Beetlejuice 2. This is probably the set I've seen Tim happiest on. He was clapping while watching the rushes, he was screaming with laughter, it was really very nice.”

About the digital special effects limited to the strict minimum (which had already been promised by Michael Keaton), Jenna Ortega says that the fictional town of Winter River has been rebuilt “Hard”, which contributed to the collective enthusiasm of the team. On the other hand, she reveals that the scenes within these sets rebuilt on the banks of the Connecticut River had to be put together very quickly, since Warner Bros. was banned from filming during the actors' strike, which broke out just before the end of the shots.

“They rebuilt Winter River, it was crazy, she explains. Everyone who lived in the area was excited. But we had to finish all our scenes in the heart of Winter River before the strike hit, because then they had to destroy that set. I remember this super weird energy on set during that last week of filming. For most of the members of the cast, who were returning to Vermont for the occasion, it was strange this feeling of rush while it was at the same time a moving moment for them. To see this house again, to be all reunited like back then and to call each other once again by the names of their characters…”

Among the new additions to the casting of Beetlejuice, Beetlejuicethere will also be Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe and Justin Theroux.

Willem Dafoe reveals his role in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice 2