Coming Back to Beetlejuice Has Been a ‘Special Experience’ Says Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder began her film career in the late 1980s, quickly rising to stardom with her breakout role in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice (1988). Ryder played Lydia Deetz, a gothic, introverted teenager with a keen interest in the supernatural.

In the original Beetlejuice(1988) recently deceased couple Adam and Barbara Maitland, find themselves trapped haunting their former home. When the house is sold to the eccentric Deetze family, the Maitlands try to scare them away. In desperation, they turn to Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice, a mischievous and unpredictable ghost, to help them remove the Deetzes from their home. Beetlejuice’s antics quickly spiral out of control, leading to chaos and danger for both the living and the dead.

In an interview with Empire Magazine, Ryder describes how she had never revisited a character before, and that being back together with Burton and her castmates was an overwhelmingly special experience.

I struggle to find the words, it’s just one of the most special experiences that I’ve ever had. The fact that we’re coming back to it, it’s… It’s beyond. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way, this is a first for me. I’ve never revisited a character, ever.

Winona Ryder | Via | Empire

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will revisit the mayhem over three decades later, 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.

Continuing her conversation with Empire Magazine, Ryder delves into how her character has evolved over the 36-year gap since the original film. When we catch up with Lydia Deetz, she’s now a mother to a teenage daughter, played by Jenna Ortega.

I went through so many stages of, ‘Who is she now?’, but I always wanted to have it be Lydia. She can’t lose who she was, she can’t be the same person, she can’t be just completely deadpan, she has to have evolved, but she also has to have kept that thing she had when we first met her. So that was the big challenge for me.

Winona Ryder | Via | Empire

Ryder has experienced a recent successful career comeback in the last few years with the huge success of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Now, with her return in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, her career looks poised to continue at the very top, where she belongs.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be in cinemas worldwide September 6.

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