Winona Ryder Reveals She Had ‘One Condition’ For Joining Stranger Things As Joyce Byers: ‘It Had To Be…’

Winona Ryder recalls her ‘one condition’ for joining Stranger Things

Winona Ryder rose to fame in 1988 when she acted as Lydia Deetz in the movie “Beetlejuice,” a comedy horror production. After many years, the highly-awaited follow-up to this classic film has been given the go-ahead and is set to premiere in cinemas this coming September.

In a new Harper’s Bazaar video interview, the actress discussed some beloved roles from her acting career and mentioned that prior to “Stranger Things,” she had already been talking about a potential sequel with Burton. (Or: The actress spoke about several cherished characters she’s portrayed in an interview for Harper’s Bazaar, and she disclosed that before the creation of “Stranger Things,” she was already in discussions with Burton regarding a follow-up project.)

When the actress encountered The Duffer Brothers (Matt and Ross) for the first time about joining their series and portraying Joyce Byers, she put forward a condition before giving her approval.

I’ve been bringing Joyce Byers to life for the past ten years now. When I first started, it was just supposed to be a single episode – a huge deal for me since they only gave me the pilot script. At the time, I had no idea what streaming meant or how it would change the landscape of television. It was an unsettling thought.

Winona Ryder shared that she and Tim Burton had been contemplating a Beetlejuice sequel for over a decade. She mentioned that they believed in making it right with all parties involved, so there have been instances where they thought production would start, but it hasn’t quite come together yet.

She added that when she initially encountered the Duffer Brothers, the masterminds behind Stranger Things, she made a condition: if there was ever going to be a Beetlejuice 2 film, she would need to step away from the series temporarily to work on it. The Duffer Brothers consented, and fortunately, things fell into place accordingly.

What was Winona Ryder’s Beetlejuice film about?

In “Beetlejuice,” a movie by Tim Burton, the story revolves around the deceased couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis), who meet untimely deaths in a car crash. After their demise, they return as ghosts to find new residents, Charles (Jeffrey Jones), Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), and their daughter Lydia (Ryder), moving into their house. Unable to scare them off, the Maitlands seek help from a bizarre and unpredictable bio-exorcist ghost named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). Yet, instead of resolving the issue, Beetlejuice’s chaotic actions only worsen it.

At present, production on The Duffer Brothers’ fifth season of Stranger Things is underway. It’s been indicated that some of the original actors are set to reappear in the upcoming series, including Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Priah Ferguson, and Winona Ryder.