Credit: Warner Bros.Beetlejuice is back, and this time, he’s bringing his… wife?
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Warner Bros is ramping up casting for it’s sequel to the 1988 cult classic, and one of the latest additions is bringing a whole new element to the story.
As covered by the Hollywood Reporter, Italian movie icon Monica Bellucci joins the cast as Beetlejuice’s wife, starring alongside Michael Keaton as the titular ghost.
The movie’s plot is still strictly under lock and key but what is known is who else in returning. With Tim Burton helming once again, original star Winona Ryder will be coming back too as Lydia. Catherine O’Hara is also returning as her mother, Delia Deetz.
Scream (2020) star Jenna Ortega will be bringing her horror pedigree to round out the third generation of the Deetz family, playing Lydia’s daughter.
New to the table — where presumably, there will be much-possessed frivolity — is The Leftovers and Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi’s Justin Theroux. He will be making his Beetlejuice debut alongside Willem Defoe, who was also just announced for the sequel.
Outside of the casting, there’s also another tidbit of information: hot on the writers’ strike delays, Beetlejuice 2 now occupies the spot the MCU’s long-gestating Blade movie held. It’s set to release on September 6 next year.
In the original Beetlejuice, the film’s climax turned on the infamous ‘bio-exorcist’ attempting to get Lydia to marry him in exchange for his help exorcising the Deetz family. While that effort was ultimately thwarted, Bellucci’s role suggests Beetlejuice found success elsewhere — hopefully we can soon put a name to Beetlejuice’s wife.
Related: ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Gets a Release Date
Bellucci certainly has the screen credits to justify being able to handle marriage to the afterlife’s most notorious dealmaker. She was in 2015’s James Bond movie Spectre, making history at age 50 as the oldest ‘Bond girl’ on screen. She also appeared in The Matrix franchise as Persephone, the wife of the villainous Merovingian.
Outside of blockbuster cinema, she has established a long career in international cinema, gaining critical acclaim for her roles in films such as Malena (2000) and Irreversible (2002).
How do you think Beetlejuice’s wife will factor into the sequel? Tell us in the comments below.