Breaking down the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer

After 36 long years, it's showtime once again. Warner Brothers has finally released the official trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Since the 1988 release of Beetlejuice, the fandom has consistently grown in size and enthusiasm - so much so that we have earned a new installment that looks to be just as interesting as the first.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice brings back three stars from the original: Winona Ryder as Lydia, Catherine O'Hara as Delia, and of course Michael Keaton as the titular character. Alongside them, new characters are being introduced to the universe played by noteworthy actors Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, and Danny DeVito. Ortega will take the lead as Astrid, Lydia's daughter.

Now let's dissect this trailer.

The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer opens with a funeral for Charles (husband of Delia, father of Lydia, grandfather of Astrid). Death is a great way to start the trailer, and also a good way to get rid of the character, as actor Jeffrey Jones is a convicted sexual predator who was outed in the early 2000s. Quite grim, so let's get back to the spooky stuff. We move on to see the old house; out front is Delia's iconic sculpture that came to life and attacked her so long ago.

We get a glimpse of Beetlejuice sitting at a desk - he appears to have settled down at a real job in the afterlife. He has a World's Best Boss mug with a nameplate that appears to say "Afterlife Call Center Manager." He looks at a framed photo of teenage Lydia, leading to a lot of questions about his existence since 1988. Has he been taking a break from causing havoc? Has he been trying to fit into the bureaucracy of the afterlife? Does he miss Lydia (gross), or does he miss when he was in his prime trouble-making era?

Astrid goes up to the attic of the classic house and discovers the small replica of the town as well as the same Betelgeuse flier that Adam and Barbara found in the original film. Astrid seems to be a lot like her mom at that age, and against her mother's wishes, releases Beetlejuice.

The trailer shows parts of the afterlife that we remember from the original, but also new imagery that promises the lore to be built upon. Delia is seen sandwiched between two dead folks in the waiting room where we have previously seen Adam, Barbara, and Beetlejuice. This will be Delia's first time exploring the realm of the dead - how has she changed over the years and will she be better able to handle the unpleasantness of the afterlife?

There's a cool shot of Monica Bellucci as a powerful, beautiful, stitched-up dead woman giving off Bride of Frankenstein vibes. We also catch a glimpse of Willem Dafoe with this head shaved open on the side, revealing bits of skull and brain. There was no footage of Danny DeVito, so we'll have to wait and see if his character belongs to the living or the dead.

Towards the end of the trailer, we see Lydia and Astrid in the desert sandworm dimension. The worm looks and moves just like it did in the 80s - a great dose of nostalgia that leaves you excited to see more. Hopefully, we'll get some more teasers before September, but for now, I hope this trailer can tide you over.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be in theaters on September 6.