Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. Say this around 27 more times and well…maybe the universe will grant you a ticket to the upcoming re-release of the 1980s Tim Burton classic about a charming supernatural character who was originally envisioned to be played by legendary entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.
According to a new report from Entertainment Weekly, the classic dark comedy will be screened in select locations around the world this weekend in honor of its 30th anniversary. The piece will be remastered and hopefully, it won’t feature that alternate ending where Winona Ryder’s Lydia died in a fire in order to hang out with her friends in the spirit world.
Though the original film’s grown to be loved by many, the yet-to-be-made sequel is still struggling to find traction. Originally, talk centered around a piece titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, but that never materialized. Since then, different writers including Seth Grahame-Smith have been off and on, pre-production has waxed and waned and most recently, Black List scribe Mike Vukadinovich took up the task of rewriting the screenplay. Although, that was back in 2017.
At this point, I honestly hope that a sequel never happens. There are a ton of examples of decades-late sequels failing to cut the mustard and such a daring and inventive comedy doesn’t deserve to have its name sullied by befalling the same fate as Basic Instinct and Blade Runner (though that one’s subjective). We’ll always have the original, Tim Burton should be actually challenging himself and the always lovely Michael Keaton is busy kicking ass with awards-caliber projects. A sequel’s just beneath them and everyone else involved in the first pic.
As for the Beetlejuice remaster and re-release, it’ll be in theaters this weekend domestically and in France, Spain, Taiwan and Latin America. Will you be checking it out? Be sure to let us know.