Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder and Willem Dafoe all star in long-awaited sequel finally arriving this year

2024 is shaping up to be a colossal year for new films, and we’re set to see a few sequels in the mix.

As well as Dune: Part Two heading to the big screen, we’re looking forward to the arrivals of Joker 2, Gladiator 2 and Disney Pixar’s Inside Out 2.

However one of the most anticipated movies coming next year stars Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara.

Excitingly, the long-awaited fantasy film has also recently added Willem Dafoe, Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega and Justin Theroux to its ranks.

Of course, we’re talking about the highly-anticipated release of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2.

Over the years, there have been a few failed attempts to get the sequel off the ground.

But in February 2022, it was revealed that the movie would be produced by Brad Pitt’s studio Plan B Entertainment in collaboration with Warner Bros.

And despite Burton originally claiming not to be involved in the project, the director has ultimately returned to the helm.

In an interview with the Independent, the 65-year-old said that after joining the project, he stripped it and went back to basics by working with ‘good people, actors and puppets’.

Burton's Beetlejuice 2 is based on a story by Seth Grahame-Smith and serves as the follow-up to 1988’s Beetlejuice.

The original story, written by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren and Larry Wilson, starred Alec Baldwin, alongside Keaton, Ryder and O’Hara.

Warner Bros.

While the plot of Beetlejuice 2 is still under wraps, Defoe has previously given some insight into his character.

“I play a police officer in the afterlife, so I’m a dead person,” the American Psycho star said.

“And in life, I was a B-movie action star, but I had an accident and that’s what sent me to the other side.

“But because of my skills, I became a detective character in the afterlife.”

In the interview with Variety, the Poor Things actor said that he hadn’t ‘seen any footage’ and claimed the experience was ‘fun’.

Echoing sentiments is Keaton, who is set to reprise his role as the titular character.

Warner Bros.

Speaking to Empire, the 72-year-old said: “Beetlejuice is the most f****ng fun you can have working. It’s so fun, it’s so great.

“And you know what it is? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie.

“There’s a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line – I want people to know this because I love it – tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.”

Excitingly, the upcoming supernatural comedy movie is currently slated to hit cinemas on 6 September 2024.