How Jenna Ortega's Beetlejuice 2 Character Connects To The Original Film
Before Winona Ryder was known for "Stranger Things," she was known for being "strange and unusual." At least, that's how her character in 1988's "Beetlejuice" put it. The actor would become a goth icon following her role in Tim Burton's 1988 effort, "Beetlejuice," with appearances in "Heathers" (1989), and "Edward Scissorhands" (1990) further cementing her alt-girl status. But there's no doubt "Beetlejuice" was where it all began.
The actor starred as Lydia Deetz, the teenage daughter of Charles and Delia, who move into a new house in Winter River, Connecticut, only to find it haunted by the ghost with the most himself, Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). In the movie, Keaton's rambunctious supernatural miscreant was hired to spook the Deetz family by the former owners of the house, Barbara and Adam Maitland (Geena Davis and Alex Baldwin), who suddenly found themselves in the afterlife following a car accident. Lydia, meanwhile, becomes somewhat of a bridge between the spirit world and the mortal realm as she is the only one of the Deetz family who's able to see the Maitlands and almost marries old Betelgeuse before he's devoured by a giant sandworm during the film's final moments. Alongside her pallid complexion and all-black attire, Lydia's connection to the supernatural firmly established her, and by extension Ryder's, goth credentials.
With that in mind, it's only right that the modern incarnation of Lydia is played by an actor with similar goth bonafides. Enter Jenna Ortega. The star of such celebrated horror fare as Ti West's "X" and the fifth and sixth "Scream" films, Ortega cemented herself as what Vogue dubbed "the ultimate new-age goth girl" when she starred in Burton's Netflix series "Wednesday." Now, she's playing Lydia's daughter in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" — the perfectly titled sequel to the original film — and has revealed new details about her character.
Jenna Ortega will carry on the goth girl legend as Astrid Deetz
Jenna Ortega is the latest in a proud lineage of goth girl icons, following in the footsteps of other greats such as Christina Ricci (who portrayed Wednesday Addams in the '90s theatrical "Addams Family" films). Ricci actually appears alongside Ortega in "Wednesday" season 1, playing the role of a teacher, Ms. Thornhill, and symbolically passing the goth girl baton in the process. Now, Ortega will complete her ascendancy by starring alongside yet another alt-girl legend in the form of Winona Ryder in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."
We've known since 2023 that Ortega will be playing Lydia Deetz's daughter, Astrid. But now the "Wednesday" star has revealed further details about the role. She explained to Vanity Fair:
"I don't know how much I'm allowed to say, but I am Lydia Deetz's daughter, so I'll give that away. She's weird, but in a different way and not in the way you'd assume, I would say. The relationship between Lydia and Astrid, my character, is very important. And it's also really strange because it's a lot of catching up and putting the pieces together of what's gone on in Lydia's life since, which is nice, I think, for anybody who loves the character and is excited to see her again."
What's interesting here is Ortega's comment about Astrid being "weird, but in a different way." We're all expecting the actor to basically portray a new incarnation of the raven-haired Lydia, but perhaps we're missing something...
Is Astrid Deetz the complete opposite of her mother?
When asked about whether Astrid rebels against her mother's more morbid sensibility to the extent she's the complete opposite of Lydia, Ortega told VF:
"I wouldn't say she's bright and sunny at all. She doesn't go to the opposite end of the spectrum, but any kid who becomes a teenager wants to be removed from their parents. I think they instantly just fight whatever it is that their parent loves. So I think it's a little bit of that. I'm not wearing pink and a cheerleader, but I am a little bit against my mom's history or past. We butt heads quite a bit."
Just how the pair butt heads remains to be seen, but I'm hoping Astrid shares some of her mother's ability to communicate with the paranormal realm and perhaps overcomes her rebelliousness to bond with her mother as a result. Unfortunately, the plot of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" remains somewhat of a mystery. We do know that alongside Michael Keaton, Catherine O'Hara will return as Lydia's mother, Delia Deetz, with newcomers Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe rounding out the cast. All of which bodes well for the upcoming sequel.
That said, there's every reason to be skeptical of the film, and not just because we're all worried "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" could fall victim to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's merciless axe. Put simply, Tim Burton hasn't exactly been on a hot streak recently, with many viewing the director as having peaked during the '90s. Still, with Ortega, Keaton, and Ryder returning and a solid cast backing them up, the filmmaker could surprise us all when "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" debuts in theaters on September 6, 2024.