Jenna Ortega in Talks to Star in 'Beetlejuice 2'

by Darian Scalamoni

    It looks like Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) is looking to stay in the twisted world of Tim Burton, per The Hollywood Reporter. The outlet reports that Ortega is circling one of the lead roles for the upcoming production of Beetlejuice 2.

    Ortega is scolding right now, seemingly the top young star in Hollywood following her role as Wednesday Addams for the aforementioned Netflix series. This news comes off the heels of Scream VI which could potentially set a box-office record for the Scream franchise this weekend. Beetlejuice 2 would reunite Ortega with Tim Burton, who created and directed the 1988 film Beetlejuice which starred Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Catherine O'Hara. As of now, only Keaton has officially signed on to return for the sequel that is aiming for a production start of either late May or early June in London.

    The young actress is currently still in talks but having talked of the influence of the original Beetlejuice at length in past, it's hard to imagine Ortega passing on the opportunity to return to that kooky world created by Burton. If she does sign on, it's expected that she'll play the daughter of Lydia, who is portrayed by Winona Ryder in the first film. 

    Ortega already has a stacked schedule ahead of her with some movies already in the can but other projects she's been reported on joining. She's currently filming the romance film Winter Spring Summer or Fall which we previously reported back in December. She also has wrapped production on Miller's Girl with Martin Freeman and Finestkind with Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster. The latter project also comes from writer-director Brian Helgeland (42, A Knight's Tale). Additionally, Ortega is set to make her SNL debut this weekend and has just signed on for a buzzy untitled project that we had reported just a few weeks ago from The Weeknd and Trey Edward Shults for which she'll work alongside recent Oscar-nominee Barry Keoghan.