Winona Ryder reveals how 'bond' with Jenna Ortega helped Beetlejuice return
"I never pictured Lydia either having children or in any type of relationship. I just always thought she was just probably in her own world as she got older."
Thirty-six years on from the original film's release, Tim Burton has reunited Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder for long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
In the new film, we find Lydia as a mother and TV personality - two things Ryder has said she never imagined Lydia becoming.
Speaking with SlashFilm, she said: "I think certainly, I never pictured Lydia either having children or in any type of relationship. I just always thought she was just probably in her own world as she got older. Just sort of in the attic and happy, but alone."
Ryder added that Lydia's TV career "was hard to imagine", but said that the supporting cast - including Jenna Ortega - helped her to come around to the idea.
She explained: "I think once we got there, and once Jenna and I bonded, and once Justin [Theroux] came on board [...] I mean, I think everyone who's as old as I am now, we've all been in those things where you're just like, 'What was I thinking, in terms of the relationship I have?'
"But I don't know what young Lydia... I don't think she would ever have expected to be in front of a camera."
Alongside Keaton, Ryder, Ortega and Theroux, the film also stars Catherine O'Hara, reprising her role as Delia Deetz, as well as Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe and Torchwood's Burn Gorman.
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The film's official synopsis says: "Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened.
"With trouble brewing in both realms, it's only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice's name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem."
Ortega will soon be seen reprising her role in the second season of hit Addams Family Netflix series Wednesday, which also comes from Burton.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is in cinemas from Friday 6th September 2024.
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