Beetlejuice 2 Creates A Stealth Reunion For 32-Year-Old Horror Movie That Made $216 Million

Summary Winona Ryder and Monica Bellucci reunite in Beetlejuice 2 after previously starring together in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992.

The dynamic between Ryder and Bellucci's characters in Beetlejuice 2 mirrors their roles in Dracula in connection to the movies' main villains.

With Tim Burton directing, the sequel also includes familiar faces like Michael Keaton, Catherine O'Hara, and new talents like Jenna Ortega.

The cast of Beetlejuice 2 creates a reunion for a 1992 horror movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with the actors’ roles bearing curious similarities in both franchises. With Tim Burton back in the director’s chair, Beetlejuice 2’s cast sees plenty of familiar faces playing the living and dead characters in the upcoming sequel to his 1988 film Beetlejuice. While a few original cast members are confirmed to return, including Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, and Catherine O’Hara, most of the actors are new to the world of Beetlejuice – but some have previously worked with Burton.

Among the new figures joining Beetlejuice 2’s story are Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Danny DeVito. Dafoe and Bellucci are making their Tim Burton movie debut, but the two actors bring plenty of experience in the horror genre to their roles as an afterlife police officer and Beetlejuice’s ex-wife in the 2024 film. Furthermore, many of the new Beetlejuice 2 cast members have previously worked with the returning actors in other movies beforehand, such as Winona Ryder and Monica Bellucci having collaborated on a massively successful horror release from the 1990s.

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Beetlejuice 2's Winona Ryder & Monica Bellucci Were Both In Bram Stoker's Dracula From 1992

Beetlejuice 2 is Ryder & Bellucci's second horror movie together

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Before working together in Beetlejuice 2, Lydia Deetz actress Winona Ryder and Delores actress Monica Bellucci both appeared in the 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Bram Stoker’s Dracula saw Ryder – who had already been making waves in the horror genre through Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands – star as Mina Harker, while Bellucci portrayed one of Dracula’s Brides. The 1992 adaptation of the classic vampire novel was a campy hit for Coppola, earning approximately $216 million at the box office while currently holding a “Certified Fresh” 74% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Related Every Winona Ryder Horror Movie Ranked From Beetlejuice to Black Swan, Stranger Things star Winona Ryder has an impressive horror resume, but which is her best movie in the genre so far?

Now, about 32 years later, Ryder and Bellucci are reuniting in another highly anticipated horror film on Beetlejuice 2. Bram Stoker’s Dracula actually isn’t the last time that the two actors have worked together, however. They also both appeared in the 2009 movie The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, which curiously also brought them back together with their Dracula co-star Keanu Reeves. If Reeves happens to make a surprise appearance in Beetlejuice 2, then he, Ryder, and Bellucci would have a curious array of projects together across three decades of films.

Movie Winona Ryder Character Monica Bellucci Character Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Mina Harker Dracula's Bride The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) Sandra Dulles Gigi Lee Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) Lydia Deetz Delores

Ryder & Bellucci's Beetlejuice 2 Roles Continue An Odd Dynamic From Their Dracula Movie

Ryder & Bellucci's connections to the villains are similar in Dracula & Beetlejuice

While Ryder and Bellucci are back in another horror movie together for a completely different franchise, their character dynamics are still quite similar. Much like in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Ryder’s Beetlejuice 2 character is the mortal woman whom the horror movie’s supernatural and deceased villain is obsessed with. Likewise, both Bellucci’s Beetlejuice 2 character and Dracula figure are already the dead wife of the main villain. Whether Winona Ryder’s character will ultimately decapitate Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice 2 as her character did to Dracula remains to be seen, however.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will premiere in theaters on September 6, 2024.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes