Jenna Ortega in negotiations to join Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice 2’

Los Angeles: ‘Wednesday’ star Jenna Ortega is in negotiations to join the cast of filmmaker Tim Burton’s upcoming second film in ‘Beetlejuice’ franchise.

According to the entertainment website ‘Variety’, Ortega is being considered to play the daughter of Lydia Deetz, portrayed by Winona Ryder in the 1998 original film.

If the deal is finalised, the project will mark the actor’s second collaboration with Burton, who was an executive producer on ‘Netflix’ series ‘Wednesday’ and directed four of its eight episodes.

‘Beetlejuice 2’ will see Michael Keaton reprise his role as the title character.

The original ‘Beetlejuice’ revolves around Charles (Jeffrey Jones), Delia (Catherine O’Hara) and Lydia Deetz (Ryder), who inhabit a home previously occupied by the Maitlands (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis). The Maitlands died in a car accident, but their ghost selves want to re-inhabit their former house, recruiting Beetlejuice (Keaton), a ‘bio-exorcist’, to scare away the Deetzes.

The sequel has been in the works at ‘Warner Bros.’ for some time. Hollywood star Brad Pitt’s production company ‘Plan B’ boarded the project in February last year.