Tim Burton Explains Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis’ Absence in ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel”

Director Tim Burton has revealed why Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis won’t be returning for the highly anticipated sequel to his 1988 classic Beetlejuice. While original cast members like Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Michael Keaton are set to reprise their roles in the 2024 film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Burton decided to take the story in a new direction, leaving some familiar faces behind.

In an interview with People magazine, Burton explained that he didn’t want to simply “tick boxes” by including every original cast member. Instead, he focused on bringing a fresh perspective to the sequel. “Even though they were such an amazing integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else,” Burton said.

In the original 1988 film, Baldwin and Davis played Adam and Barbara Maitland, a recently deceased couple who find themselves trapped in their former Connecticut home. Their peaceful afterlife is disrupted when the eccentric Deetz family—Charles (Jeffrey Jones), his daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder), and his wife Delia (Catherine O’Hara)—move in, leading to a series of supernatural clashes.

The sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, introduces Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s teenage daughter. Her character unintentionally unlocks the doorway to the afterlife, reigniting the chaos that fans of the original will recognize.

“A sequel like this, it really had to do with the time,” Burton continued, explaining his vision for the new film. “That was my hook into it—the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. And that [would] be the nucleus of it. I couldn’t have made this personally back in 1989 or whatever.”

Geena Davis, reflecting on her absence from the sequel, suggested that the decision might be related to the nature of their characters. “Ghosts don’t age,” she mused, offering a possible reason for why Adam and Barbara Maitland aren’t part of the new storyline. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to hit theaters on September 6, bringing a blend of old and new faces to the screen, with Jenna Ortega leading the charge in this latest chapter of the beloved supernatural tale.