Are Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin not coming back? Beetlejuice 2,
Ever since Warner Bros. Pictures released the trailer for the sequel, Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceFans are on the lookout for spoilers. Given that the original film is set just old enough to start a presidential campaign, we all knew the sequel would be different.
But both Geena Davis and the always controversial Alex Baldwin were memorable, central characters in the first film.
Why is there no sign of them? Beetle Juice To be honest, it was impossible.
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’: Alex Baldwin and Geena Davis didn’t return because Tim Burton didn’t want them to
Beetle Juice It was an instant, memorable hit in 1988.
Although many younger millennial viewers may better remember the animated series (in which the title character was more of a badass best friend than a villain), the film left its mark on popular culture. Many of its stars remain beloved acting icons to this day.
The original film stars Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin as a pair of ghosts who harass and eventually befriend the living family that moves into their home – particularly daughter Lydia. Winona Ryder plays Lydia, of course.
As you can see in the trailer released by Warner Bros. Pictures on Thursday, May 23, the sequel film is clearly a blast from the past and many of the OG stars are back, including Catherine O’Hara and Michael Keaton as the main stars.
But Geena Davis is also alive and working on both television and film. And even if one ignores Alec Baldwin’s most infamous recent film, he is still alive and working. Yet there is no sign of him in the trailer or any other material associated with the sequel.
And director and producer Tim Burton wanted the same.
“I think the thing for me was that I didn’t want to tick any boxes. So even though they were a wonderful integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else,” Burton explained in an interview before the film’s release.
Why were Alex and Gina removed from the ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel?
“This kind of sequel was really about timing,” Burton said.
This was my inspiration, three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. And this [would] Be the center of it. I personally couldn’t have made it in 1989 or earlier.”
In the original film, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin play Barbara and Adam Maitland (respectively). Both die at the beginning of the film, and become ghosts in their house.
When the Deetz family moves in, they first try to scare the family away. Later, they summon a trickster demon named Beetlejuice to try and evict everyone from their home.
Eventually, the two become surrogate parents to the surviving family’s daughter, Lydia. The famous scene of her flying away at the end is a bit of grace from her ghostly friends.
Tim Burton directed that movie and this one. The movie clearly has enough money to allow it to include new (veteran) actors like Willem Dafoe and Danny DeVito.
Not to mention Jenna Ortega, who appears to be the one summoning Beetlejuice this time around.
Geena Davis gives her take on the Beetlejuice sequel
Before Timm explained why the stars weren’t called back, there were two popular explanations for why we wouldn’t be seeing Davis or Baldwin on the show. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,
The first possibility seems personal. For example, if Alex Baldwin’s recent drama (an understatement) made the studio wary of controversy.
But the other, more disturbing thing was that the actors aged at 35, which ghosts shouldn’t. A creative team could work around this – e.g. Star Trek: Picard did with Q – but that’s a hindrance. Michael Keaton’s character looked like a ripped Joker in 1988 and will look the same in 2024, so it’s not a problem for him at all.
And this is where Gina comes in.
“No, I’m not. I’m not in the remake,” Davis revealed At When asked about the sequel.
“Oh, you were hoping I’d get older? Yeah, no, you know what? Because my theory is that ghosts don’t get older… not that I’ve gotten older,” she said, laughing.
But you know what? Having said all that, even if they don’t appear in the movie, we suspect there will be something to their story. We’re sure there will be an explanation for their ghostly characters’ absence.