During a recent interview with Variety, Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe opened up about his involvement in Tim Burton’s long-awaited Beetlejuice 2 movie. He confirmed that he is playing an afterlife police officer who was a B-list movie action star during his previous human life.
“I haven’t seen any footage yet, but it was fun to do,” Dafoe teased. “I play a police officer in the afterlife, so I’m a dead person. 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. So that’s my job. But it’s colored by the fact of who I was [when I was alive]: a B movie action star.”
Beetlejuice 2 Production is Nearly Completed
Prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, production on Beetlejuice 2 was “99% done,” according to Burton. Now that the Hollywood strikes are officially over, the horror comedy sequel is one of the major high-profile features that will immediately resume filming. The project is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on September 6, 2024.
Beetlejuice 2 is once again being directed by Tim Burton. This marks Burton’s feature directorial comeback, four years after helming Disney’s live-action Dumbo. After initially working together in Netflix’s Wednesday series, Scream VI star Jenna Ortega reunites with Burton. Joining Ortega are returning stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara. The sequel will also introduce new characters in the form of Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe.
Beetlejuice starred Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis. The film centered around a deceased married couple who called on the services of the obnoxious and mischievous poltergeist from the Netherworld to scare away the new residents of their former home. Since its debut, it earned both critical and commercial success with a box office gross of over $73 million.
