Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: What character is Jenna Ortega playing?

If we speak of some absolutely good movies in the gothic horror-comedy space, Beetlejuice surely remains a beloved one. It's whimsical, refreshing, and memorable, and it has a cult following to date. While the movie was released over four decades ago, its quirky characters, macabre humor, and absurdity cannot be forgotten. Thankfully, after many years, Tim Burton is finally bringing us its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which has a release date of September 6, 2024. Many familiar faces, like Michael Keaton as the iconic Betelguese, Winona Ryder's Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O'Hara's Delia Deetz, are making a return. Along with this unforgettable cast, we will see new faces joining too, including Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Justin Theroux, Arthur Conti, and Burn Gorman.

For Ortega, this will be the second time she will be collaborating with Tim Burton after Netflix's Wednesday Addams, a massive hit and widely acclaimed series that gave rise to viral internet trends. The 2024 movie will be based on a story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, the renowned author of the best-selling novel Pride & Prejudice. Previously, not much information was disclosed about her role, but now the Wednesday actress herself has given an official confirmation of what character she will be playing in the upcoming sequel.

What's Jenna Ortega Playing In Beetlejuice 2?

In a recent conversation with Vanity Fair, Ortega revealed that she will be portraying the role of Astrid Deetz, daughter of Lydia, and their relationship will play a crucial part in the movie. Let's have a look below at her comment.

"“I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say, but I am Lydia Deetz’s daughter, so I’ll give that away. She’s weird, but in a different way and not in the way you’d assume, I would say. The relationship between Lydia and Astrid, my character, is very important. And it’s also really strange because it’s a lot of catching up and putting the pieces together of what’s gone on in Lydia’s life since, which is nice, I think, for anybody who loves the character and is excited to see her again.
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- Jenna Ortega

Lydia Deetz is one of the renowned gothic girls of the Tim Burton universe who has a liking for photography and poetry. One of her unique qualities was that she could see ghosts. In the 1988 movie, she was the first one to discover the Maitland ghosts and also the one to unleash the foul-mouthed Beetlejuice. Her character story ended with the ghosts and the Deetz family co-existing in harmony. In the upcoming sequel, her story will be moving forward now as an adult and a mother to Astrid, who will once again cross paths with the annoying Beetlejuice. Some more details about Astrid given by Ortega are mentioned below.

""I wouldn’t say she’s (Astrid) bright and sunny at all. She doesn’t go to the opposite end of the spectrum, but any kid who becomes a teenager wants to be removed from their parents. I think they instantly just fight whatever it is that their parent love. So I think it’s a little bit of that. I’m not wearing pink and a cheerleader, but I am a little bit against my mom’s history or past. We butt heads quite a bit.”"

- Jenna Ortega

Despite many differences, many of us have found a bit of similarity between the two Burton-created characters—Ryder's Lydia and Christina Ricci and Ortega's Wednesday—as they are outcasts, have a unique sense of humor, have a goth aesthetic, and obviously have a love for gloomy things.

Considering Ortega's prior experience playing a dark character like Wednesday and her current character being a goth girl's daughter in the upcoming sequel, it would be interesting to see the uniqueness and weirdness she brings to Astrid's character.