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The Beetlejuice sequel's Lydia Deetz is not the adult Winona Ryder expected her to be
The Stranger Things star had a very different idea of her character than did director Tim Burton ahead of filming the sequel
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Odds are, you’re a different person now than you were when you first watched Beetlejuice. Unless you’re a newcomer to the movie (in which case, welcome!), you likely watched it as a kid – a kid with a very different idea of the adult you’d become. As it turns out, the same is true of the kid starring in the OG film. Ahead of sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, lead Winona Ryder admitted to having a very different idea of her character than what ended up on screen.
Speaking to /Film, Ryder said that she “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.”
As you know if you’ve watched the trailers, Ryder’s character Lydia Deetz is returning to the big screen with both a romantic partner and a child, as well as a career as a news reporter, which puts her firmly in the spotlight. That public-facing job, in particular, was something Stranger Things star Ryder found “hard to imagine.”
Fortunately for we the audience, Ryder found inspiration to go with this different take, particularly in how she worked with her fellow castmates.
“I think once we got there,” the actor explained, “and once Jenna [Ortega] 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?'”
Of course, part of the reason that Ryder may have gotten into this version of adult Lydia is that she’s reunited with director Tim Burton for the film, to whom she has widely credited her Hollywood career. Though we have to admit, adult Lydia’s style choices do seem to indicate that at least some of her child self is appearing on screen.
Dreams may be temporary, but goth is forever.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is summoned into theaters September 6.
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