The recently released Beetlejuice 2 trailer and Michael Keaton’s return certainly had me singing “Day-O.” However, fans, like myself, hoping to reunite with Geena Davis’ Barbara Maitland in the upcoming Beetlejuice sequel, will be very disappointed. Speaking from CinemaCon 2024, where she received the Viola Davis Trailblazer Award, Davis clarified she won’t be returning for the new installment. Though I’m bummed by the news, her ‘theory’ for why she won’t be returning to the world of the undead makes a lot of sense.
If you are a fan of Tim Burton’s movies, especially his highly inventive cult horror-comedy flick, you probably share Michael Keaton’s enthusiasm for the sequel finally hitting the 2024 movie schedule. While several OG cast members, including Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, are set to return, Davis recently spoke about not reprising her role in the much-anticipated sequel, telling Entertainment Tonight:
No, I’m not. I’m not in the remake. Oh, you were expecting that I would be? Yeah, no, you know what? Because my theory is that ghosts don’t age… Not that I have.
It’s certainly disappointing that Geena won’t be revisiting Burton’s enchantingly gothic universe, yet her rationale makes sense: ghosts, after all, do not age.
Davis and Alec Baldwin were pivotal in the original film, portraying Barbara and Adam Maitland—ghosts dwelling in the house of Lydia and Delia Deetz, played by Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, respectively. The plot thickened when the Maitlands, to reclaim their home, reluctantly called upon Michael Keaton’s bio-exorcist, setting off a chain of events.
Although the original film concluded with the Maitlands and the Deetzes reaching a peaceful coexistence, Davis has finally confirmed she and Baldwin’s characters will not be featured in the follow-up more than 35 years in the making. It remains to be seen how the sequel will address their absence.
The Thelma & Louise actress believes she wasn’t asked to return for the sequel because, according to her, it wouldn’t make sense for her character to come back. She added:
Our characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it’s been a while, it’s been a minute.
Although she might not be fully updated on the latest developments of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Davis has been keeping busy, particularly with her recent acceptance of the Viola Davis Trailblazer Award. The Exorcist alum expressed her gratitude, saying:
It’s an incredible honor, you know, such an enormous fan of hers, and she really is a phenomenal trailblazer. It means the world to me and also I’m really grateful.
Congratulations are in order for Geena Davis, and although she won’t appear in Beetlejuice 2, we eagerly anticipate her future projects.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits theaters on September 6, 2024. CinemaBlend has extensively covered Warner Bros.’s 2024 CinemaCon panel, where you can get our complete coverage, which includes a look at the studio’s upcoming films and the upcoming flick from Tim Burton.