Winona Ryder Says They Were "Waiting For Jenna Ortega To Be Born" To Do Beetlejuice Sequel

4 September 2024, 16:59 | Updated: 5 September 2024, 16:04

By Katie Louise Smith

"We were waiting for Jenna to be born, and grow up and be the perfect age."

After 36 years, the much-talked about Beetlejuice sequel is finally here... And we can all thank Jenna Ortega for making it happen. Kind of.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which sees Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara reprise their iconic characters from the original 1988 film, introduces Jenna Ortega's brand new character Astrid Deetz. Astrid is Lydia's cynical teenage daughter and she plays a pretty key role in the sequel.

In fact, the whole thing truly couldn't have happened without Jenna. Literally, if Winona and director Tim Burton's comments are anything to go by.

Speaking ahead of the release of the film, Tim revealed that working with Jenna on Wednesday was a real driving force behind getting the sequel made. Winona's comments calling Jenna their 'missing puzzle piece' have also gone viral.

• Read more: Jenna Ortega Goes Viral After Doing Sign Language With A Deaf Fan At Beetlejuice 2 Premiere
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"There's so much affection for the original, and everything had to be perfect for this one to work," Winona told Associated Press when asked about the sequel. "And I think again, fate because we were waiting for Jenna to be born and grow up, and be the perfect age. Because she fits so beautifully into this puzzle, like she's such an incredible, brilliant, addition and it's just... I love her so much."

Winona echoed those statements in an interview with Collider, calling Jenna the "perfect puzzle piece" needed to complete the sequel which Tim Burton had been trying to make work for over a decade.

Winona Ryder: 'We were waiting for Jenna (Ortega) to be born' for 'Beetlejuice' sequel

Responding to Winona's praise in the interview, Jenna added: "They make it easy. They really do make it easy. I was so scared coming on to set everyday and not really knowing– I was kind of in a weird place in my life and I just didn't anticipate I felt like they kind of relieved any pressure that I possibly could have had."

Alongside Jenna's Astrid being the puzzle piece needed to finally nail the storyline of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Tim Burton also opened up about why he felt it was finally the right time to create the sequel.

Speaking at the Venice Film Festival, Tim explained he had become "a little bit disillusioned" with the film industry in recent years, but was "re-energised" after working on Wednesday with Jenna.

"And meeting Jenna obviously was such an important thing for me," he said. "Working with her and just thinking about the Lydia character and what happened to her 35 years later, and thinking about my own life, about what happened to get kids or relationships."

"It just became a very simple, emotional movie. It’s like a weird family movie, you know? It was never [about making] a big sequel for money or anything like that. I just wanted to make this for very personal reasons," he added.

Read more Jenna Ortega news here:

• Jenna Ortega Turned Down Wednesday "Multiple Times" Before Accepting It
• Are Olivia Rodrigo And Jenna Ortega Related? Their Childhood Friendship Revealed
• Jenna Ortega's Hilarious Response To Johnny Depp Dating Rumour Goes Viral
• Jenna Ortega Explains Why She Isn't Interested In Dating Anyone

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