'Beetlejuice 2' Casts Tim Burton's Rumored Flame Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice's Wife (Report)

Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton are getting together for one of Hollywood's buzziest in-the-works sequels.

On Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Bellucci, 58, is among the new cast members in filmmaker Burton's Beetlejuice sequel, which PEOPLE confirmed on Tuesday will release in theaters on Sept. 6, 2024.

Plot details for the upcoming movie remain unknown, but amid a smattering of casting reports in recent days, the outlet reported that the Mafia Mamma star will play Beetlejuice's wife. Michael Keaton is expected to reprise his titular role from the 1988 classic in the movie as well.

The news follows multiple reports in March that Wednesday's Jenna Ortega is in talks to star in the Warner Bros. sequel as the daughter of Winona Ryder's Lydia, one of the main characters in the original. THR reaffirmed those reports Friday when it reported that Ryder, 51, and Catherine O'Hara will reprise their roles in the sequel as well.

Justin Theroux will join Bellucci and Ortega, 20, as newcomers to the sequel's cast along with Willem Dafoe, who is expected to play a law enforcement officer in the afterlife, the outlet reported.

Burton, 64, and Bellucci were photographed arm-in-arm in Madrid back in February, as seen on the cover of Paris Match magazine. The pair notably appeared together at the Lumière Film Festival in Lyon, France, in October 2022, when Bellucci presented Burton with the festival's lifetime achievement Lumière Award.

Reps for Burton and Bellucci did not respond PEOPLE's requests for comment about the nature of their relationship in February.

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THR reported that production on Beetlejuice 2 began this week; the outlet had previously reported the movie planned to film in London.

The sequel, which has been rumored to be in the works for at least a decade, reportedly features a script written by Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The pair previously collaborated with Burton on the hit Netflix series; the Edward Scissorhands filmmaker directed its first four episodes.

As far back as 2011, Deadline reported that producers David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith had signed with Warner Bros. and aimed to create a Beetlejuice follow-up. Director Burton, as well as Keaton and Ryder, expressed interest in making a sequel at different times throughout the 2010s.

The original Beetlejuice movie starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Glenn Shadix and Keaton, whose shady spirit helps a recently deceased couple drive out an unbearable family who moved into their home.

Beetlejuice 2 will release in theaters on Sept. 6, 2024.