Tim Burton Just Revealed Why He Didn't Bring Alec Baldwin And Geena Davis Back For "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a hit...at least according to the early reviews out of the Venice Film Festival this week.

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice is standing with arms open, wearing a black-and-white striped suit, dark tie, and wild hair, with theatrical makeup on their face
Parisa Taghizadeh / © Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection

Director Tim Burton's sequel to his 1988 classic horror comedy premiered at the festival on Wednesday and will be released in theaters nationwide on Sept. 6.

Man with curly hair and sunglasses waves while leaning on a boat railing
Ernesto Ruscio / Getty Images

While stars of the original film Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara are all back, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are not, and Burton recently opened up about why.

Alec Baldwin at a film festival, wearing a casual suit and light shirt. He has a slight smile and stands in front of a backdrop with text
Alec Baldwin at a film festival, wearing a casual suit and light shirt. He has a slight smile and stands in front of a backdrop with text
Geena Davis poses in a textured pink dress with cap sleeves in front of a
Geena Davis poses in a textured pink dress with cap sleeves in front of a

Sonia Moskowitz / Getty Images, Tommaso Boddi/Variety via Getty Images

In the original film, Baldwin and Davis play a deceased couple haunting their old home only to become annoyed when a new family moves in.

Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, in distress, clutching a white door against a surreal outdoor backdrop in a scene from the film
Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones played married couple Delia and Charles Deetz, while Winona Ryder played Charles's daughter Lydia. Jones also did not return for the sequel.

Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, and Jeffrey Jones in a dramatic scene. They are all close together, with solemn expressions, creating an intense moment
Warner Brothers / Courtesy Everett Collection

Of course, Keaton played Betelgeuse, the spirit Baldwin and Davis's characters summon to scare away the Deetz family.

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, wearing a black-and-white striped suit with disheveled hair and pale facial makeup
Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

The sequel chronicles Delia and Lydia's return to Winter River following a tragedy. They're accompanied by two new characters: Lydia's daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) and Lydia's fiancé Rory (Justin Theroux).

Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, and Justin Theroux stand outdoors in dark, gothic attire at a cemetary
Parisa Taghizadeh / © Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection

Burton revealed that Baldwin and Davis's characters didn't return as the sequel focuses on the three generations of Deetz women.

Alec Baldwin, Michael Keaton, and Geena Davis in a scene from "Beetlejuice"
Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

"I think the thing was for me I didn't want to just tick any boxes," he told People. "So even though they were such an amazing integral part of the first one, I was focusing on something else."

Warner Bros./ Courtesy: Everett Collection.
Warner Bros./ Courtesy: Everett Collection.

"A sequel like this, it really had to do with the time," he also said. "That was my hook into it, the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter. And that [would] be the nucleus of it. I couldn't have made this personally back in 1989 or whatever."

Jenna Ortega and Catherine O'Hara, in period attire, stand in a dimly lit room looking up and holding hands with a concerned expression
Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection

In addition to Ortega and Theroux, the sequel sees Monica Bellucci joining the cast as Betelgeuse's ex-wife, Delores...

Monica Bellucci stands between two open doors wearing an off-the-shoulder, sequined gown
Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection

...and Willem Dafoe as the ghost detective Wolf Jackson.

Willem Dafoe holds up a blurred image of  Monica Bellucci
Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection

In April, Davis told Entertainment Tonight she wasn't returning for the sequel, saying, "Oh, you were expecting that I would be? Yeah, no, you know what? Because my theory is that ghosts don't age. Not that I have. Our characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it's been a while. It's been a minute."

Geena Davis smiles at a red carpet event, wearing a patterned dress with a wide belt and a gold chain strap purse
Derek White / Getty Images for Bentonville Film Festival

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