The upcoming sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will bring back Michael Keaton as the titular ghost with the most, but he’ll also be joined by some newcomers to the franchise. This includes Wednesday star in the role of Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Winona Ryder’s Delia Deetz.

On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Ortega commented on her role in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. She shared the story of the first time she met Keaton on the set, admitting that he’d actually frightened her with his approach. As Ortega told Jimmy Fallon, Keaton came up to introduce himself while he had “molds peeling off his face” from his Betelgeuse makeup. It was such an unexpected sight that it frightened Ortega, who compared the introduction to a “jump scare.” She also commented on the second meeting she had with Keaton, which didn’t scare her at all, though it was slightly awkward.

“He came up behind me,” Ortega explained. “I was getting a hair and makeup test, and I got a tap on the shoulder and I turned around and it was a jump scare for sure. He was like, ‘Oh hey I’m Michael,’ and he had molds peeling off his face.”

I got a tap on the shoulder and I turned around and it was a jump scare for sure.

She added, “I played it cool and then it was cool until I met him for a second time out of hair and makeup because I introduced myself again because I forgot that I had already met him.”

Keaton was ultimately impressed with the contributions that Ortega brought to the project with her role. Although the original film was released many years before Ortega was born, Keaton suggested she was still “born to play” her role in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. He went on to suggest that Ortega “just got it” with how to play the role, and that was something that became clear to Keaton very early into the sequel’s production.

Jenna Ortega Was Born to Play Astrid Deetz

“The other day I said it’s almost like she had to be… when people say ‘Well she was born to play it,’ I’m starting to think, I wonder if she was literally born to play it,” he told Access Hollywood. “Because you know, it’s so obvious. You know she just, well, she’s a really nice young woman but also really smart. And she just got it. She just showed up and I went ‘Oh yeah, she’s got this figured out. Like this fits her like a glove man.'”

Other newcomers to the cast include Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe. Meanwhile, other original stars joining Keaton for the sequel include Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will premiere in theaters on Sept.6, 2024.

Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon