Beetlejuice sequel to open Venice Film Festival

VENICE

The sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 "Beetlejuice" will premiere at this year's Venice Film Festival, bringing back actor Michael Keaton as the havoc-wrecking demon, organizers said July 2.

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" will kick off the glitzy festival running from August 28 through Sept. 7 on Venice's Lido, showing out of competition.

It comes 36 years after the original, which helped cement the reputation of Burton, 72, as a master of unique and quirky fantasy films marked by visual effects and gothic horror.

"Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the long-awaited return of one of the most iconic characters in Tim Burton's cinema," said festival director Alberto Barbera.

Barbera called Burton "one of the most fascinating auteurs of his time" and the sequel "a surprising swing of creative imagination and driving hallucinatory rhythm."

Actor Michael Keaton reprises his original role, as do Catherine O'Hara and Winona Ryder.

The film also stars Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Willem Dafoe.

Burton's three-decade career includes films such as "Edward Scissorhands" (1990), "Tim Burton's The Nightmare before Christmas" (1993) and "Alice in Wonderland" (2010).