It was 1988 when we saw the first incarnation of Tim Burton’s bizarre comedy fantasy Beetlejuice. Now, after over a quarter century and several failed sequel attempts, it appears the likelihood of Michael Keaton resurrecting the legendary character is better than ever.
It was late last year when Winona Ryder all but confirmed that a sequel was indeed in the works. “I love Lydia so much. She was such a huge part of me. I would be really interested in what she is doing 27 years later,” said Ryder. “I would never go near [a sequel] if it was not Tim and Michael, because those guys, I love.”
Things died down a bit after that but in February of this year they started swirling again after Keaton mentioned he was in discussions with Burton about potentially bringing Betelgeuse back to the big screen. “I always said that [Beetlejuice] is the one thing I’d like to do again, if I ever did anything again,” said Keaton. “…And without giving too much away, we’ve talked to each other, and emailed each other, and if he’s in, it’s going to be hard not to be in.”
A script, titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, was actually written back in 1990 but it was shelved, probably for the best, after Keaton and Burton got tied up in Batman Returns. Kevin Smith was reportedly approached to rewrite the script in 1996 but turned it down.
With Keaton now getting some serious attention for his amazing performance as Riggan Thomson in Birdman (one of the best films of the year), and Burton receiving great praise for his upcoming biographical drama Big Eyes, it’s an ideal time for an update on the status of the highly anticipated return of Beetlejuice.
In an interview yesterday with Coming Soon, Burton gave us exactly that. “It’s a character that I love and I miss and I miss actually working with Michael,” said the director. “There’s only one Betelgeuse. We’re working on a script and I think it’s probably closer than ever and I’d love to work with him again.”
Burton is currently in the pre-production stages of his next project Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which will potentially present a roadblock as far as moving forward with Beetlejuice anytime soon. But at this point, a sequel seems more than likely. We’ll try our best to be patient.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZqEqJ-QNmio&list=PL18yMRIfoszH_jfuJoo8HCG1-lGjvfH2F
Originally published December 15, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
