After 36 years, the Beetlejuice sequel is finally happening—and we can all thank Jenna Ortega, according to Winona Ryder. In a sweet interview, Ryder joked that she and director Tim Burton were “waiting for Jenna to be born” before moving forward with the long-anticipated film.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice sees Ryder return as Lydia, alongside Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara, with Ortega starring as Lydia’s teenage daughter, Astrid Deetz. Speaking to Associated Press, Ryder said, “We were waiting for Jenna to be born and grow up and be the perfect age. Because she fits so beautifully into this puzzle like she’s such an incredible, brilliant addition and it’s just… I love her so much.”
Tim Burton echoed Ryder’s sentiments, admitting that working with Ortega on Wednesday inspired him to push ahead with the sequel finally. “It just became a very simple, emotional movie. It was never about making a big sequel for money… I just wanted to make this for very personal reasons,” Burton said at the Venice Film Festival.
Jenna Ortega herself responded humbly, saying, “They make it easy. They really do make it easy… I was so scared coming on to set every day… they kind of relieved any pressure that I possibly could have had.”
It looks like the stars finally aligned, and we are so glad they did.
