‘Beetlejuice 2’ Debuts New Footage at CinemaCon

Tonight, those of us at CinemaCon learned that — just like his character in Tim Burton’s film series — Michael Keaton can also be summoned by saying his name three times. Keaton took the stage alongside the filmmaker and a number of other cast members for the upcoming sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to answer some questions and show off some new footage. Joining Keaton and Burton — and dressed in all black, staying very on theme with the production — were Catherine O’Hara, Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci. The group was beyond excited to talk about the upcoming production which Keaton proclaimed as “really f***ing good.”

Referring to the film’s production as “a weird family reunion,” Burton was elated that after more than three decades — and a lot of conversations — they were able to raise Beetlejuice from the grave. He said that he longed to showcase “three generations of Deetz women,” with Keaton adding that Jenna Ortega “just got it” even though she wasn’t a member of the original film’s cast. Meanwhile, O’Hara admits that rumors about the sequel had long been whispered and that she was nervous the team was planning to move forward without her, to which Keaton responded, “There is no sequel without Catherine.” We couldn’t agree more!

Dafoe teased plenty of “handmade effects,” which he admits were enjoyable to “play with” in between shots — praising the practical effects that went into making the sequel come to life. One thing that everyone mentioned was the caliber of talent that made up the call sheet for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Keaton called everyone on board “so friggin funny” while Theroux echoed this sentiment, adding, “The bench is so deep with funny and wonderful actors.”

Last month, the first trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was released, revealing the masterful follow-up that audiences have been waiting for for a long time. While Burton said he couldn’t go overboard with what he was able to show us, he weaved pieces of the already-dropped trailer in with new footage of the spectacularly spooky production that hits screens in September. In it, we saw more of Beetlejuice’s reunion with Lydia (Winona Ryder) and even caught a glimpse at some of the stop-motion animation that was previously teased. Bellucci, who will be playing Beetlejuice’s wife, was spotted in an all-black dress that puts her on par with Morticia Addams, and more peeks of Dafoe’s B-list actor-turned-afterlife-police-officer were revealed. In all, audiences have so much more to look forward to when the next teasers and trailers eventually make their way to the mainstream.

You can learn more about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice here in our guide and see the movie in theaters on September 5. Stay tuned at Collider for more news out of CinemaCon! You can stream the original Beetlejuice on Prime Video.

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