Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's Jenna Ortega on ensuring Astrid wasn't Lydia Deetz 2.0: "Tim just kind of takes a step back and lets you do what you need to do" (2024)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's Jenna Ortega on ensuring Astrid wasn't Lydia Deetz 2.0: "Tim just kind of takes a step back and lets you do what you need to do" (1)

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Jenna Ortega has opened up on Tim Burton's hands-off approach to directing, and how she ensured her character wasn't just a rehash of the franchise's original teen, Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz.

In the long-awaited sequel, which picks up with the Deetzes 36 years on from the original, Ortega plays Lydia's teen daughter Astrid.After their previous encounter with the titular ghoul, the family have found themselves in New York City – Astrid at boarding school, Delia (Catherine O'Hara) curating avant-garde art shows, and Lydia hosting a paranormal reality show called Ghost House. When Charles Deetz dies suddenly, though, the trio finds itself back at Winter River, navigating their tension-filled relationships as they start being, quite literally, haunted by their past.

"There actually weren't a lot of conversations with other people, which I think is really exciting and [the thing that's so] different about working with Tim, because usually you do have those conversations," Ortega tells GamesRadar+ and Inside Total Film, explaining how she brought Astrid to life. "I love being able to share and collaborate on ideas for a character, but Tim just kind of takes a step back and lets you do what you need to do.

"If you have questions or if you have concerns, he'll talk to you about them. But for the most part, we just kind of showed up and we did it," she smiles. "I didn't want [Astrid] to be Lydia, so I just made sure she had similar characteristics, like just being very self-assured and opinionated and very aware of who she was. The writers also did a wonderful job of establishing that for me, then it was more so just working with Catherine and Winona a lot of the time, and they're so great at what they do, and so nice and so comforting that I didn't have to worry about chemistry too much, everything just kind of fell into place."

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's Jenna Ortega on ensuring Astrid wasn't Lydia Deetz 2.0: "Tim just kind of takes a step back and lets you do what you need to do" (2)

O'Hara, who worked with Burton on the 1988 flick, had a similar experience. "We just winged the whole thing," she laughs, before adding: "No, it's so freeing to just be trusted in that way, to you know, just come in and do it. Of course, you've got the script to work with. But Tim is also really collaborative and really loose about letting you improvise, and encouraging that, and improvising himself. It's very creative. It's a very creative vibe."

In the first film, the ghost-seeing Lydia regularly clashes with her eccentric, screechy stepmother Delia, as the latter sulks about moving to the suburbs. In the follow-up, Astrid and Lydia have become semi-estranged since the death of Astrid's father, due to Lydia's busy schedule and former's lack of belief in all things otherworldly.

"It wasn't really discussed, but we all just knew that Delia and Lydia would be in a new place," says O'Hara. "And I think I got to show that I actually loved my husband. Delia was in a rough place in the first movie. He'd taken her from where she thinks she's comfortable; in the urban environment with her artist friends, well, people she thinks are her friends. She doesn't really have any friends. Nobody appreciates her art. Her husband paid for her gallery show that we see [in the sequel]. I'm sure that was never discussed. But, you know, you just make up stuff, help your own character."

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases on September 6.In the meantime, check out our guide to the most excitingupcoming moviesheading our way.

Listen out for more of our chat with Ortega and O'Hara on the upcoming episode of the Inside Total Film podcast, which is available onApple,Audioboom,Spotify, and more.

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.

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FAQs

Who is the daughter in Beetlejuice? ›

Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder)

Lydia Deetz was 15 years old in the original Beetlejuice.

Who is Lydia Deetz's mom? ›

Emily Deetz is the biological mother of Lydia Deetz in the musical. Not much is known about Emily Deetz but she is mentioned in Beetlejuice the Musical at the very beginning.

Is Beetlejuice good or bad? ›

Tim Burton's Beetlejuice is a great film. The director was given free reign to make his own film visually and it is great. The casting is good, but the standout is Michael Keaton. Keaton is absolutely hilarious in the title role.

What did Beetlejuice do before he died? ›

We know that Beetlejuice used to work as the assistant to the caseworker Juno, which means he killed himself, since all undead civil servants committed suicide. Beetlejuice was Bozman, and he killed himself after his building was completed in 1835.

Who is the old dead lady in Beetlejuice? ›

Sylvia Sidney
OccupationActress
Years active1925–1998
SpousesBennett Cerf ​ ​ ( m. 1935; div. 1936)​ Luther Adler ​ ​ ( m. 1938; div. 1946)​ Carlton Alsop ​ ​ ( m. 1947; div. 1951)​
Children1
5 more rows

Does Beetlejuice marry Lydia? ›

Before there's even time to take in the idea that maybe Lydia did marry Beetlejuice after all, Burton smash cuts to the sight of Lydia waking up a second time from a dream. This time she's all by herself. And that's the end of the movie. It elicits an: “Oh.”

Who replaced Sophia in Beetlejuice? ›

Understudy Presley Ryan has taken over the role of Lydia in the Tony-nominated musical; she will remain in the role through February 23. Original cast member Sophia Anne Caruso, who exercised her contractual out to pursue television work, played her final performance on February 19.

Why do Lydia and Beetlejuice get married? ›

With Adam and Barbara in danger of disappearing forever, Lydia summons Beetlejuice to save them. The price for his help this time… Lydia has to marry him. Beetlejuice saves Adam and Barbara who, in turn, save Lydia from Beetlejuice, and expel him to the afterlife's tedious waiting room.

Who is the kid Beetlejuice? ›

Lester Green, (born June 2, 1968), also known as Beetlejuice, is an American comedian and actor. He was best known for Bubble Boy, Scary Movie 2, and his appearances on The Howard Stern Show.

Why did Sophia quit Beetlejuice? ›

Caruso's press agent, Carleen Donovan, says the actress “exercised her contractual out to pursue television work and was not fired from the show.” In an email to the cast last week, the show's producers wrote, “After several conversations, [Caruso] has decided . . . to pursue television work.

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