Winona Ryder has been playing Joyce Byers on “Stranger Things” for almost 10 years now! That’s crazy long for one TV role. When she first met with the show’s creators, the Duffer Brothers, Winona had one condition – if they ever made a sequel to her classic 1988 movie “Beetlejuice,” she needed time off from “Stranger Things” to film it.
The Duffer Brothers agreed to let her go do the movie if it happened. That was Winona’s only request when signing on for the new show on Netflix. At the time, she didn’t really know what streaming was or how big the show might get. Winona talked with director Tim Burton over the years about a “Beetlejuice” follow-up. They had some ideas, like “Beetlejuice Goes to Outer Space,” but nothing stuck.
Luckily for Winona and the Duffer Brothers, “Beetlejuice 2” – now called “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” – filmed during breaks from “Stranger Things.” That means Winona didn’t have to miss any of her scenes as Joyce! The long-awaited sequel is coming out in theaters on September 6th.
In the new movie, Winona is back as Lydia Deetz. Lydia now hosts a TV show about ghosts since she can see and talk to the dead. But she’s sad since she can’t connect with her late husband, who was the father of her daughter Astrid. The mother and daughter don’t get along well since the death.
It took them a while, but Tim Burton and Winona Ryder finally made their “Beetlejuice” follow-up. Fans of the original movie and “Stranger Things” will be excited to see Winona back in her classic role this fall when “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” opens in theaters.