It’s showtime: After 36 years, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is giving the Tim Burton cult classic the afterlife it deserves.
The long-awaited sequel to 1988’s Beetlejuice takes place decades later, with the “strange and unusual” Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) returning to Winter River with her teenage daughter (Jenna Ortega) and stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) to pay their respects amid a family tragedy. Michael Keaton, of course, reprises his role as the titular Beetlejuice, a sleazy prankster-demon who’s notorious for using ludicrous shenanigans to scare humans away.
While the film is led by familiar faces, there are also a handful of new roles, including Monica Belucci as Dolores, Beetlejuice’s vengeful corpse-bride haunting him in the afterlife; Justin Theoreux as Rory, Lydia’s suspect fiancé and television producer; Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, an actor hilariously condemned to playing a cop-role for all eternity; and Danny DeVito as the Afterlife Janitor.
Catherine O’Hara as Delia, Jenna Ortega as Astrid, Winona Ryder as Lydia, and Justin Theroux as Rory.
Since narrowly escaping being wed to a 6,000-year-old demon in her youth (we dare not say his name three times), Lydia Deetz has gone on to achieve great things in the world of the living. She’s the host/medium of the TV show Ghost House with Lydia Deetz, and a legend in the town of Winter River, where she was once just an eccentric, lonely teen with a dark sense of humor who romanticized death.
While back in town for a funeral service, Lydia returns to the haunted house where she had encountered Beetlejuice and his ghouls from all those years ago, intent on keeping the past nailed in its coffin. But when a defiant Astrid summons him to spite her mother’s wishes, the “Ghost with the Most” springs back in action as if no time had passed, still hellbent on spending a millennium with Lydia. Let the haunting commence for a whirlwind second round. Here’s how you can get a piece of the action.
Where will Beetlejuice Beetlejuice be Streaming?
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is now playing in regular and IMAX theaters everywhere as of September 6. While no streaming date has been confirmed yet, the film will likely end up on Max, because it’s a Warner Bros. title, in the coming months. A subscription with ads goes for $9.99/month or $99.99/year, while an ad-free version costs $16.99/month or $169.99/year.
In the meantime, you can prepare yourself for the long-awaited sequel by revisiting the first Beetlejuice, available for streaming now, on Max, Prime Video, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Sofia Bianchi is a Business Assistant on the Creative Operations Team at HearstMade and a culture writer covering film, television, and entertainment.