Tim Burton Reveals Why Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis Are Missing from the ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel

You can try saying their names three times, but Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis won’t be showing up in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, the sequel to the 1988 horror-comedy classic directed by Tim Burton.

In the original film, Baldwin, now 66, and Davis, now 68, portrayed Adam and Barbara Maitland, a couple from Connecticut who become ghosts after accidentally driving off a bridge while trying to avoid hitting a dog.

Their spirits were trapped in their charming home, which the quirky Deetz family later purchased: Charles (Jeffrey Jones), his daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder), and Charles’s wife Delia (Catherine O’Hara).

Unhappy with the new residents, the Maitlands enlist the help of the mischievous demon Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to scare the Deetzes away.

Image Courtesy: People

While many of the original cast members return for the sequel — including Keaton, Ryder, and O’Hara — Baldwin and Davis are notably absent. The new film explains that the Maitlands found a “loophole” that allowed them to leave the house they were once confined to.

Burton explained that he wanted to explore a new storyline that didn’t involve the Maitlands. “For me, it wasn’t about just ticking boxes. Even though they were such an important part of the first one, I was focused on something different this time,” he told PEOPLE.

He added that the significant passage of time was crucial to the story he wanted to tell, which sees Delia and Lydia, now living elsewhere, returning to the Connecticut home for Charles’s funeral. Lydia, who was a teenager in the original, is now a mother herself, with a teenage daughter named Astrid (played by ‘Wednesday’ breakout star Jenna Ortega). Astrid is just as rebellious as Lydia once was toward her stepmother Delia. For reasons that won’t be spoiled here, Beetlejuice makes his return.

Image Courtesy: People

“A sequel like this had to be about the right timing,” Burton said. “That was my angle — the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. That’s the core of the story. I couldn’t have made this film back in 1989 or whenever.”

Keaton shared that he and Burton had discussed revisiting ‘Beetlejuice’ over the years, but they both knew it had to be done right.

“We thought, ‘You have to get this right.’ I was cautious, and so was he,” Keaton said. “But once we were on the same page, I said, ‘Okay, let’s do it.’”

In April, Davis confirmed to Entertainment Tonight that she wouldn’t be returning and offered her own theory as to why. “I’m not in the remake,” she said. “Oh, you expected I would be? Well, no. My theory is that ghosts don’t age… not that I have!”

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ hits theatres on 6th September.

–Farheen Ali