Tim Burton Explains Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis’ Absence in ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel

• Johnny Depp (Frequent collaborator): “Tim Burton has this magical ability to take a story and twist it into something deeply personal, yet universally relatable.”
• Helena Bonham Carter (Actress and collaborator): “Working with Tim is like stepping into another world. He brings a unique, fantastical perspective that you won’t find anywhere else.”

Director Tim Burton recently shed light on why Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, who starred in the original Beetlejuice film, are absent from the much-anticipated sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. While Burton brought back original cast members Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael Keaton for the 2024 follow-up, Baldwin and Davis do not reprise their roles.

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Burton explained his decision in an interview, stating, “I think the thing was for me I didn’t want to just tick any boxes. So even though they were such an amazing integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else.” This suggests that while Baldwin and Davis’s characters were essential to the original film, Burton wanted to explore new directions for the sequel.

In the 1988 classic, Baldwin and Davis played Adam and Barbara Maitland, a couple who, after their untimely deaths, find themselves trapped in their former home, now occupied by the Deetz family—Charles, his daughter Lydia, and his wife Delia. In the new film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which recently impressed audiences at the Venice Film Festival, Jenna Ortega plays Lydia’s teenage daughter, who inadvertently reopens the portal to the afterlife.

Burton further elaborated on his approach to the sequel, saying, “A sequel like this, it really had to do with the time. That was my hook into it, the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. And that [would] be the nucleus of it. I couldn’t have made this personally back in 1989 or whatever.” This focus on generational dynamics and the passage of time reflects a thematic shift from the original film.

Tim Burton tells PEOPLE why Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis don’t reprise their characters from ‘Beetlejuice’ in the new sequel, explaining that the story is ‘focu…

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Geena Davis had previously speculated about her absence from the sequel, humorously noting to Entertainment Tonight that “ghosts don’t age,” suggesting that the characters’ supernatural status could have played a role in Burton’s creative choices.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to release in theaters on September 6, bringing a fresh take on the beloved classic while honoring its roots.

Key Points:

i. Tim Burton explained that Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis were not included in the Beetlejuice sequel to avoid simply repeating elements from the original film.

ii. sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, focuses on a new story involving three generations of the Deetz family.

iii. In the original movie, Baldwin and Davis portrayed a ghostly couple trapped in their former home, but the sequel moves in a different direction.

iv. Jenna Ortega plays Lydia’s daughter in the new film, which explores themes of time and generational connections.

v. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be released in theaters on September 6, 2024.

Fallon Jacobson – Reprinted with permission of Whatfinger News