Jenna Ortega says "my soul left my body" when she first saw Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice: "I wanted to remember it for the rest of my life"
Aug. 6, 2024Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is out September 6
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Jenna Ortega couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Michael Keaton on set as Beetlejuice for the very first time.
“I remember feeling my soul leave my body for a second,” Ortega toldVanity Fair. “And then in between takes, he’s sitting down and drinking his tea."
In the sequel to Tim Burton’s comedy-horror hit, Ortega plays Astrid, the daughter of Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder). When Astrid mistakenly gets taken to the underworld, Lydia calls upon her old ‘pal’ Beetlejuice for help.
Added Ortega: “Every time I walked onto that set, I wanted to remember it for the rest of my life.”
The flagship film premiered some 35 years ago and was a critical and commercial success, earning over $74 million at the global box office against a budget of $15 million. A sequel had been planned for quite some time, initially titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, though it remained in development hell until a brand new idea was brought to the table.
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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent’s Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.
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