'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' cast talks sequel's new adventures, the Burton universe and more

More than 36 years after "Beetlejuice" became a box office and cultural phenomenon, Tim Burton has finally released the long-anticipated sequel.

"Good Morning America" sat down with returning stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara as well as cast newcomers Jenna Ortega, Justin Theroux and Monica Bellucci at the JW Marriott Essex House in New York City on Aug. 17 to discuss their experience working on the film and what longtime fans can expect from the sequel.

Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara on returning to 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice'

Ryder spent the decades between films imagining plenty of outcomes for Lydia, but she credits co-star Justin Theroux for helping her reprise the character in a full-fleshed way.

"I was so thrilled when he came on because I was really trying to figure out where Lydia was, and I'd never pictured her in a relationship. It really helped inform where she was in her life. She was in this sort of vulnerable spot. I mean, I think some of us have been there, and we look back like, 'What was I thinking?' Justin's energy…it was so fun, and it helped make sense of it all."

O'Hara's portrayal of Lydia's stepmother, Delia, in the first film is an iconic role in which she fully showcases her knack for playing eccentric characters who know how to steal a scene.

When asked if Delia was just as outlandish as ever, she mused:

"Delia has definitely grown and softened, but the one thing that's never changed is her belief in her own artistic talent that no one else seems to recognize. I have a wonderful big gallery show in this move and I'm sure my husband paid for it."

The scene involves Delia's kooky brand of performance art, and it was also the first scene she filmed once back on set that involved collaborating with Burton on "ridiculous ideas."

"Tim wanted people to come into the gallery," O'Hara said," just to gauge their reactions.

She notes you don't see too many of the pieces on screen but the "artspeak" on the plaques and in the catalog they created – which she has – is perfection.

Ortega chimed in, "One of the few things I think audiences should really take from this movie is the gallery. When we're in that scene, look at every single piece of art. It's beautiful."

Ultimately Delia's return to form is in line with her 1988 portrayal thanks to one key factor: a staunch commitment to her creative endeavors.

"She takes herself so seriously," O'Hara explained, "as many of us do, too."

Newcomers Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux on joining the cast

Despite this being Theroux's first time working with Burton, he was confident from the jump in taking on Rory, Lydia's on-screen love interest, and claimed he was waiting for his "put me in, Coach" moment.

"It was so cool. I was of course nervous initially, but the script was so tight. And it's not like I'm coming onto a film where Tim's a first-time director; I have all of his body of work that I already admire knowing, 'We're gonna have a good team.'"

Bellucci plays Delores, the ex-wife of Beetlejuice and a soul-sucking demon who Burton knew would be right for the actress.

"I was surprised but also very curious about it," Bellucci said of her initial reaction to the director's proposal.

"When he told me, 'There is a key role in this film for which I thought about you,' I was very happy to accept it and to play this…creature, more than a monster maybe? While Beetlejuice hunts everybody, she hunts him."

Creating new characters that can stand amid a classic ensemble

Ortega's character, Astrid, is starkly different from the rest of the Deetz women but upholds the family legacy of strength and courage in the face of tragedy -- no matter how bizarre it gets. She explains:

"Something I think is so incredible about this family of women is that they're all so self-assured and so opinionated and sure of who they are that it's very clear that Astrid has a different path set for herself. She knows where she wants to go, and it's nowhere near where Delia or Lydia ever went."

And while Astrid was born into a family of decidedly unique characters, she leans a different direction.

"I don't want to say she's normal, but she's definitely the most normal one in this family."

Theroux plays Rory, who, while fittingly not normal, is "so dumb" and "toxic," the actor said.

"I wanted to kind of make him real and I was thinking they have to have a real relationship – it can't just be 'ha ha, what a d-bag,' he told "GMA."

"My mom was a single mom - so I was kind of referencing a few of her boyfriends she would bring around who were always a little too, "Hey, what's up, dude? Give me a hug!"

Bellucci's imaging of her character was fully fleshed despite her limited lines and largely physical performance that involved multiple days of shooting a "horror dancing scene" and creating the movements of "a broken doll."

"To me, Delores is interesting because she has a duality. She's scary but also funny, and she's a metaphor of life. We all have emotional scars, and she's full of scars but she's strong.

She believes fans will love Delores for how scary she is, but also the makeup and costumes, even calling her, "a great costume for Halloween."

The draw to playing 'outsider' characters

"Beetlejuice" is a film with wide appeal, but certain subcultures and types of folks tend to gravitate toward it with special fervor, often due to their connection with Ryder's performance.

Lydia Deetz is widely regarded as the actor's breakout role, and one she played while still in high school and feeling like an outcast herself.

"I was in high school when I made the first Beetlejuice and...it did really well. I remember thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to be cool now.' That did not happen."

Theroux chimed in with his surprise at this revelation, asking Ryder directly, "It didn't?!"

"No, they just thought I was even weirder."

He recalled his own experience seeing the original film when it came out and feeling a kindred spirit in the "strange and unusual" Lydia.

"I was the audience when Beetlejuice came out, and it was the first time I saw something and I was like, 'Oh my god, I relate to this teenager.' It was the first time I had seen that kind of, you know, whatever you want to call it – emo – more kind of misanthropic youth."

Ortega's career trajectory has also seen her cast in some outcast roles, including most recently, Wednesday Adams in Burton's Netflix series, "Wednesday."

"I think because everyone is so in their own head, so insecure and so dealing with themselves that it's hard to recognize that other people are feeling that same way," Ortega explained on why she believes these characters connect with audiences so deeply. She continued:

"I think also for young people now -- why this movie is especially good -- is because social media adds a whole other layer to that. All of us leave an event or some kind of social interaction and go, 'Oh man, what was I think! I sounded so stupid.' People just want to feel seen."

Ryder pointed out playing the outsider wasn't always a great route for actors to take in their career, citing that she was "heavily advised not to do" the film "Heathers" (also from 1988) and that her decision to move forward with that film meant she had to leave her agency at the time, plus she lost another role in an unnamed film when she refused to drop out.

Jenna Ortega's first interaction memory of 'Beetlejuice'

As the youngest of the new cast members, Ortega was born into a world where "Beetlejuice" was already deeply ingrained in the culture, particularly around Halloween when the self-proclaimed bio-exorcist is a popular costume choice.

"My first interaction with 'Beetlejuice' was at a Halloween party when I was like 6 and I was dressed up as Dorothy from 'The Wizard of Oz,' she told "GMA."

"I saw this drunk guy in his 40s with bleeding makeup and it terrified me. I had a nightmare about that man – like a recurring nightmare – where he would swing down the post of my bunk bed and he would offer me grape juice, and he would say, 'Hey, got any grape?'"

She finally watched the film a few years later around age 10, enjoyed it and realized, "it's not that scary. Michael Keaton cured my insomnia."

The continued legacy of the 'Beetlejuice' universe

O'Hara feels audiences continue coming back to this story and others in the Burton universe because something in the characters, no matter how idiosyncratic, resonates with their own personal struggles.

"I think people put up the most armor who are so in need of love and so desire it," she explained. "It's this protective thing. It's in a lot of Tim's movies."

"He is so focused on love," Ortega added to that thought, "and a lot of his films tend to be romantic."

Theroux said he went into the experience thinking, "I can't wait to do this, it's going to be so much fun. I hope it's as much fun as I think it's going to be," he said. "And then of course it was – and then of course it exceeded that."

Bellucci was also honored to be welcomed into the cast, noting her experience working alongside the film's title star, Michael Keaton, was a remarkable experience.

"It was so interesting and beautiful for me to see the creative signature between Tim and Michael through the years. I'm so honored to be part of this amazing cast and to enter into Tim's poetic and magical world."