Geena Davis Confirms She's Not in the 'Beetlejuice' Sequel -- Here's Why (Exclusive)

The actress starred as Barbara in the original film alongside Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton.

Geena Davis has bad news for fans hoping to see her original character from Beetlejuice in the upcoming sequel. 

On Thursday, the 68-year-old actress spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier from the CinemaCon 2024 Big Screen Achievement Awards -- where she was honored as the Viola Davis Trailblazer Award recipient -- and revealed that she will not be reprising her role as Barbara Maitland in the September 5 release. 

"No, I'm not. I'm not in the remake," she said. "Oh, you were expecting that I would be? Yeah, no, you know what? Because my theory is that ghosts don't age... Not that I have."

In the original film, Davis and Alec Baldwin played Barbara and Adam Maitland, ghosts who inhabited the home of Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara's characters, Lydia and Delia Deetz. Things are quickly shaken up when the Maitlands summon Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to send the family away from their home.

Geena Davis accepts the Viola Davis Trailblazer Award at the CinemaCon 2024 Big Screen Achievement Awards - Getty Images

While the original film ended with the Maitlands and Deetzs agreeing to live in harmony, it's now clear that Davis and Baldwin's characters will not appear, although it's unclear how their disappearance will be explained in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

According to the legendary A League of Their Own actress, it's her belief that she did not get to return because it would not have made sense based on her understanding of ghost aging logic. 

"Our characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it's been a while, it's been a minute," Davis continued. 

Geena Davis attends a performance of 'Beetlejuice' on Broadway in 2019 - Getty Images

What's more, the actress said she hasn't even had a chance to check out the trailer for the upcoming film, which dropped in mid-March and sees the return of Ryder, Keaton and O'Hara's characters. 

"I heard the trailer came out and somebody said they were crying, so I have to see the trailer," she told ET. 

While she may not be in the loop on the Beetlejuice sequel's latest updates, she has been a little preoccupied in the weeks leading up to her accepting the Viola Davis Trailblazer Award. The Thelma & Louise star said she could not be more humbled to follow in the footsteps of Davis.

Geena Davis and Kevin Frazier pose together at the CinemaCon 2024 Big Screen Achievement Awards - Getty Inages

"It's an incredible honor, you know, such an enormous fan of hers, and she really is a phenomenal trailblazer," she said. "It means the world to me and also I'm really grateful."

For more headlines from CinemaCon, check out the links below. 

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