Winona Ryder Reveals Beetlejuice 2 Details and Explains More About Lydia's Return: 'This is a First for Me' (2024)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is building up to a ghoulish release later this year, and in the new issue of Empire Magazine star Winona Ryder has been sharing a little more information about her return as Lydia Deetz in the long-delayed sequel. Although the actress has made many movie appearances over the last four decades, as well as starring in Netflix series Stranger Things, the Beetlejuice sequel is a first for Ryder for one reason.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Comedy

Fantasy

Horror

Release Date

September 6, 2024

Director

Tim Burton

Cast

Jenna Ortega , Michael Keaton , Monica Bellucci , Justin Theroux , Willem Dafoe , Winona Ryder , Catherine O'Hara

Main Genre

Comedy

Writers

Seth Grahame-Smith , David Katzenberg , Michael McDowell , Mike Vukadinovich , Larry Wilson

Studio

KatzSmith Productions, Plan B Entertainment, Tim Burton Productions

Discounting her recurring role as Joyce Byers in Stranger Things, it is true that the actress has never appeared as the same character twice – quite an achievement in an industry that is often reliant on sequels. After such a long hiatus, returning as Lydia Deetz was certainly a daunting moment for Ryder, but as she explained, despite being challenging, she felt that coming back was something she had to do. She said:

“You know, you grow up, and things change. Life happens. I struggle to find the words. It's just one of the most special experiences that I've ever had. The fact that we're coming back to it, it's... It's beyond.”

During the same interview, Ryder discussed how hard it was to get back into the character of Lydia, trying to work out what had changed since her last appearance, but also how she would still retain some of who she was back in 1988. Ryder explained:

“I went through so many stages of, 'Who is she now?', but I always wanted to have it be Lydia. She can't lose who she was. She can't be the same person, she can't be just completely deadpan, she has to have evolved, but she also has to have kept that thing she had when we first met her. So that was the big challenge for me."

One thing that has changed for Lydia, is that she now has her own TV show, Ghost House With Lydia Deetz, something that fans were given a very brief glimpse of in the recently released trailer for the sequel. Going by Lydia’s “strange and unusual” character from the original movie, it is perhaps not surprising that she has put her supernatural talents to use as she became an adult. How all of this links into the story that has been crafted to bring Beetlejuice back to screens after three decades is something that we will find out later this year.

There are many reasons why Beetlejuice Beetlejuice could be a triumph, with nostalgic sequels being a big draw at the box office, and almost the entire Beetlejuice team returning both in front and behind camera.

Recent first looks at the sequel have been well received by fans, and with director Tim Burton promising practical effects and plenty of callbacks to the original, expectation is growing for the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on September 6.