Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara explain why ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel took so long: Jenna Ortega ‘had to be born’

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” finally hits theaters this weekend, but some special magic with Jenna Ortega had to happen for the followup to Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 classic to take shape.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” finally hits theaters this weekend, but some special magic had to happen for the followup to Tim Burton’s beloved 1988 classic to take shape. Burton brings back much of the cast for the sequel, with Michael Keaton returning as the titular demon trickster and Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder reprising their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz, respectively. But it was Jenna Ortega joining the original stars – playing Astrid, Ryder’s daughter and O’Hara’s granddaughter – who ultimately served as the lynchpin for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” “Jenna had to be born, become an actress and work with Tim,” O’Hara said in a recent interview with CNN, explaining why the sequel took so long to “click.” She went on to say that Burton “thinking of this young girl’s life from her point of view, I think going deeper into that” and “seeing what an amazing actress (Ortega) is” served as the inspiration the director needed for the sequel to materialize. The “Wednesday” star wasn’t born for nearly 15 more years after the first “Beetlejuice” came out, and she didn’t see the original film until she was about nine years old in the mid-2010’s, but Ortega was the perfect addition to long-awaited sequel.