Jenna Ortega is everywhere these days. The actor had a breakout success on the small screen with her supporting role in Season 2 of You before blowing up after landing starring roles in Wednesday and Scream 5 as well 6.
Now, one of the newest Scream queens will reportedly be part of another horror comedy film.
Tim Burton has been trying to make a sequel to the cult classic Beetlejuice for decades. The movie has been finally greenlit and is reportedly already in development.
Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider reports that the sequel is currently in development with Tim Burton returning to direct. The original cast of the 1988 movie will also be back in the sequel, according to the new information.
Sneider tweeted, "I'm told that Jenna Ortega at the very least has an offer to play Lydia Deetz's daughter in BEETLEJUICE 2, which is finally a go with Burton, Keaton, O'Hara and Ryder back. That's the word on the street..."
I'm told that Jenna Ortega at the very least has an offer to play Lydia Deetz's daughter in BEETLEJUICE 2, which is finally a go with Burton, Keaton, O'Hara and Ryder back. That's the word on the street...
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) March 10, 2023
The 1988 film starred Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder alongside Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, and Catherine O’Hara. The movie was well-received by fans and critics and was also a commercial success earning $74 million against a budget of just $15 million.
There have been talks of a sequel since the first film debuted, with Burton hiring screenwriter Jonathan Gems to pen the script for Beetlejuice 2. The sequel at that time was titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. The movie was unfortunately stuck in development hell before new rumors started in 2011.
In 2014, Michael Keaton shared that he was in talks with Burton to return as Betelgeuse. The script for the sequel was rewritten back in 2017 with the director teasing that the movie is "closer than ever" to being made.
Plot details for the upcoming movie are still scarce at this point. However, Ortega will be playing Lydia Deetz's daughter in the sequel, which may have a significant time skip considering that Winona Ryder's character was still a teen in the original. Ortega is currently working with Burton on the sophomore season of Wednesday which will be returning to Netflix.
Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment will be spearheading the production of Beetlejuice 2 with Warner Bros. Burton previously said he was not returning to direct the sequel but backtracked on the statement a few days later saying that "nothing is out of the question."
"I only know if I'm making a film when I'm actually on the set shooting," Burton added. "I try to go back to the root of everything. It springs from a seed and then it grows, rather than out of these statements. I am working on ideas and things but it's all very early days. We'll set how it goes. How's that for a none answer?"
Beetlejuice 2 will reportedly start filming in London in late May or early June.
