With Beetlejuice 2 set to hit theaters later this year, Michael Keaton opens up about what it was like to work with his young co-star, Jenna Ortega.
While chatting with Entertainment Tonight’s Cassie DiLaura at the premiere of Knox Goes Away, Keaton had nothing but praise for Ortega. “Oh man, she’s good, she’s just got it, you know? She’s got the tone,” the actor declared.
“She showed up and just immediately knew what the tone was and just slipped in like she does every day. She’s really special.”
Also speaking about the sequel to his 1988 horror comedy, Keaton stated it took a while to get the production going. “I didn’t really think we were gonna do it and didn’t want to do it,” he admitted. “Various times [in the] last few years, but it was more fun than the other one.”
However, Michael Keaton then said that Tim Burton really came through and went back to his “comfort” zone. “I could tell he was having fun,” Keaton shared about the filmmaker. “Which is really contagious, when you’re around that.”
Set to premiere on Sept. 6, Beetlejuice is about a ghost who is recruited to help haunt a house. Along with Michael Keaton and Jenna Ortega, others appearing in the film are Willem Dafoe, Catherine O’Hara, and Winona Ryder.
Along With Michael Keaton, Jenna Ortega Praises the Upcoming ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel
Earlier this year, Jenna Ortega opened up about working alongside Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice 2.
She told Entertainment Tonight that the production was some of the “most fun” she’s ever had on a set. “Visually, so exciting. Everything was practical. I think we’re not using very much CGI or something like that at all.”
Speaking about her co-stars, Ortega shared, “Everyone did an incredible job. I felt so lucky to be there, it was insane … I can’t wait for people to see.”
The young actress recently praised Ryder. “Winona is just the loveliest, sweetest—just one of my favorite people I think I’ve ever me,” she told E! News. “I love her a lot and I felt really grateful to get to know her and work with her—she is just an angel on this planet.”
Ortega is notably playing the role of Ryder’s daughter, Astrid, in Beetlejuice 2. She told Vanity Fair, “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.”