Geena Davis Reveals the Real Reason Why She Is Not in the ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel With Michael Keaton

Fans of Beetlejuice are excited to see most of the 1988 film’s original cast return for the 2024 sequel. Sadly, Geena Davis confirmed she will not appear in the new movie.

“No, I’m not. I’m not in the remake,” Geena, 68, told Entertainment Tonight on Thursday, April 11. “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.”

In the original fantasy horror film, the Academy Award winner portrayed ghost Barbara Maitland, who is seen by Winona Ryder’s character Lydia Deetz.

“Our characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it’s been a while, it’s been a minute,” Geena added.

The Thelma & Louise actress admitted that she had not seen the trailer for the sequel, which is titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

“I heard the trailer came out and somebody said they were crying, so I have to see the trailer,” she said.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice stars Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz, Lydia’s daughter. Winona, 52, Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara are set to reprise their roles in the film’s new iteration. Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe were also added to the cast. Tim Burton returned to direct the film.

“I really enjoyed it,” the director told The Independent in September 2023 of working with the cast on the sequel. “I tried to strip everything and go back to the basics of working with good people and actors and puppets. It was kind of like going back to why I liked making movies.”

As for Michael, 72, he was thrilled to be asked back to portray the titular character nearly four decades later.

“Beetlejuice is the most f–king’ fun you can have working. It’s so fun, it’s so great. And you know what it is? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie,” he said. “There’s a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line – I want people to know this because I love it – tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.”

Catherine, 70, also expressed excitement about reuniting with her costars for the new movie.

“To actually get the call from Tim was delightful,” she said during an appearance at CinemaCon. “The characters have evolved — not Beetlejuice, but the rest of us.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to release in theaters on September 6.