CNN
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Director Tim Burton explains why Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin won’t be appearing in the upcoming “Beetlejuice” sequel.

Davis and Baldwin starred in the 1988 classic as recently deceased couple Adam and Barbara Maitland, who come into conflict with the Deetz family – Lydia (Winona Ryder), Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and Charles (Jeffrey Jones) – after moving into the Connecticut house where the Maitlands once lived.

The couple soon enlist the help of Michael Keaton’s deceptive demon Beetlejuice to drive the Deetzes away, causing all sorts of otherworldly chaos.

But Burton wanted to tell a different story in ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’, by asking People in an interview published on Thursday that “although they were such a wonderfully integral part of the first one, I was focused on something else.”

“I think for me it was that I didn’t want to just check boxes,” Burton said. He later added, “A sequel like this, it really had to do with the times. That was my hook in it, the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter.”

Referring to the characters of O’Hara, Ryder and newcomer Jenna Ortega respectively, Burton said the three generations of women would form “the core” of the sequel.

According to People, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” will explore why the Maitlands no longer find themselves locked in their home over time.

Keaton returns as Beetlejuice in the sequel, alongside O’Hara and Ryder. Ortega joins the cast as Ryder’s daughter Astrid, alongside new cast members Monica Bellucci, Justin Theroux, “House of the Dragon” star Arthur Conti and Willem Dafoe.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” opens in theaters on September 6.