The role Winona Ryder always wanted to reprise: “I think that ship has sailed”
If you are or ever have been a goth, chances are you’ve worshipped at the altar of Winona Ryder. Through her roles in various Tim Burton projects, such as Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands, the young star became the face of moody cinema in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Now, she has embraced her position as a mother hen-type figure in the archetype, inspiring countless generations to follow in her footsteps.
It’s not just black hair dye and sad poetry that have defined her career, however. Ryder received two back-to-back Oscar nominations in 1994 and 1995, for The Age of Innocence and Little Women, respectively. Additionally, modern audiences will know her best as Joyce Byers in Netflix’s smash hit Stranger Things. She was the one who got the show to feature Kate Bush’s song ‘Running Up That Hill’, becoming responsible for creating one of the most viral TV moments in recent times.
In short, Ryder has played many, many iconic characters and is surely set to bring even more to the screen before she hangs her boots. And while we may have our fair share of biases towards the many personas they has donned, is there a part she would most like to return to? Well, luckily for us, Queen Winona herself answered this question in an interview with Cinema Blend.
While promoting the film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice which saw her return to the character of Lydia Deetz after 36 years, the star revealed that she had attempted to do the same thing with another of her most beloved creations. “For years, I was trying to get everybody to get on board with it for Heathers,” she admitted, “but I think that ship has sailed. That was another that I thought could be a fun return. This is an absolute first for me, to revisit something. There’s something so special about it… and now, I know, it’s like you’re spoiled. Like you don’t ever want to do this unless it’s absolutely perfect.”
Released in 1989, the year after Beetlejuice, Heathers is a high school drama with a twist. Ryder’s character, Veronica Sawyer, joins up with outcast JD (Christian Slater) to murder three of her school’s most popular students, all of whom happened to be named Heather. Despite this bleak premise, the film is great fun. The entire thing was devised by screenwriter Daniel Waters as a send-up of the John Hughes-style teen movies of the era—a campy, tongue-in-cheek, black comedy that just so happens to be about killing teenagers rather than solidarity.
It’s no wonder that Ryder is so desperate to play Veronica again. She had to fight for the role in the first place, as Waters initially wanted Jennifer Connelly instead. There has been talk of a Heathers sequel for ages, with the actor bringing up her desire to return to the story once every few years. One speculated storyline would have seen an older Veronica working as a page for a woman running for the post of president of the United States. This new character would have been played by Meryl Streep and called, you guessed it, Heather.
Luckily for its leading lady, Heathers has persisted in one form or another, despite never having gotten a follow-up. In 2010, a stage musical based on the film was first performed and has been wowing crowds ever since. It has played in theatres across the world, and the production that graced London’s West End in 2018 was even adjudged ‘Best New Musical’ at the WhatsOnStage awards.
