It took Tim Burton 36 years to complete the second part of his Beetle juice franchise, and the director believes it could be a few decades before a third one comes along.

The cast and crew of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Thursday night, fresh from the 81st Venice Film Festival, descended on London’s Leicester Square to ring in the UK premiere of Burton’s latest spooktacular project, with returning stars including Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara.

Jenna Ortega, who played Astrid, Ryder’s daughter, in the blockbuster, also hit the black-and-white striped carpet, along with new cast members Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci.

When Burton was asked about the possibility of a — dare I say it? — Beetle juice Beetle juice Beetle juice film, the master of the horror genre, 66, was not exactly optimistic. “Well, if (the same) time frame continues, I’ll be about 100. So maybe. I doubt it,” he says The Hollywood Reporter.

It is a sequel from Burton, who created classics such as Edward Scissorhands, The Corpse Bride And Alice in Wonderlandhas described as deeply personal to him. Why was 2024 the right year for a sequel to the cult horror comedy hit after nearly four decades? “Well, because the character of Lydia (Ryder) interested me,” Burton answers. “Getting older is when you start thinking about what’s happening in life. (She) starts out as this cool teenager. Relationships… Do you have kids? What are they like? What do you like? How do you change? These are all things that I know and experience. So it felt better to make this now, rather than in, like, 1989.”

Ortega has become something of a scream queen in recent years — literally. With performances in the Scream franchise, as well as that of Netflix Wednesday (of which Burton directed four episodes), the young actress has established herself as a reliable option for horror pros like Burton. When it came to Beetlejuice 2It was a no-brainer for Ortega. When Burton knocks, you open the door.

“Sure. I mean, I was surprised that he asked me about Wednesday“, Ortega recalls THR“I was surprised he asked me about it Beetle juice. Working with him is a dream.” And the ghosts, ghouls and demons of a Tim Burton set are a much more relaxed environment than you might imagine, she adds. “It’s the best. It’s so safe, it’s so collaborative, it’s so inviting and everyone just keeps pushing themselves. It’s very playful and it doesn’t feel like work, you don’t want to leave. Playing (Ryder’s) daughter is probably one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. She’s just an absolute legend and one of the sweetest people.”

Willem Dafoe had never worked with Burton before this film — and to say his curiosity got the better of him would be an understatement. “That was a big draw,” Dafoe says. “I mean, I’ve been following him for years and I really like his films. He’s contributed to a lot of films, so when he asked me to do something, even if I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be, I was happy to sign on.”

Dafoe plays a ghost cop in this film, “but before I died, I was a B-list movie star.” The actor enjoyed poking fun at himself. “You know, the narcissism of actors, that kind of stuff, I (could) play into that.” He has a face-altering look in this film, which harks back to his prosthetics for Poor things: “People want to mess me up, I guess,” he says of his pattern of often messing up his face for roles. “It took a while (to get the makeup on) because every piece is painted on. And that’s another one of the joys of the movie, all the low-tech effects. It’s really handmade stuff. It’s really artisanalit’s not the stuff that’s done in post(production). It’s fun because it has a kind of playful, crazy aesthetic, but it still stays within the horror genre.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was greeted with a warm standing ovation by the audience at its world premiere on Wednesday night at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The film is scheduled for release in the U.S. on September 6