It appears that Michael Keaton has hit that stride in his life where he’s bringing back the most iconic roles he’s ever played. After reprising his role in The Flash this year as what could arguably be considered the greatest Batman of all time, he’s finally delivering what he’s been promising and tackling Beetlejuice 2 next.
The initial Beetlejuice came out in 1988 with Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, and of course, Keaton getting top billing even though Winona Ryder was such a big part of the film herself. On a $15,000,000 budget, the film grossed $74,714,720 worldwide and has maintained an 86% Rotten Tomatoes rating, which means this film which came out slightly before the internet has entertained new generations of fans throughout the years.
With that kind of success, why wouldn’t the making of Beetlejuice 2 be feasible? Set to be released September 6, 2024, Wynona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara will stay on board as Jenna Ortega, Monica Belluci, and Willem Dafoe will join the new cast. Tim Burton will also stay on as director so that brings up a very good question fans are dying to ask.
What is the sequel to Beetlejuice going to be like with a creative half-cast change and a new storyline after all these years, 35 to be exact?
NDAs might keep the town of Corinth quiet about the set and the fact that production has begun but Michael Keaton had a good bit to say in an exclusive with Empire.
“Beetlejuice is the most [beeping] fun you can have working. It’s so fun, it’s so great. And you know what it is? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie.”
He went on to say:
“There’s a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line – I want people to know this because I love it – tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.”
When asked about working with Tim Burton and the creative process of coming up with a sequel without just copying and pasting a film together:
“We both agreed, if it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time. Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something.”
A few more ideas for the actor while he’s at it is he could revisit Jack in Mr. Mom after the kids are all grown up or what would Johnny Dangerously be like today? What would it be like for Doug Kinney to go visit all the other Doug Kinneys in a sequel to Multiplicity? The truth there are so many great roles for him to reprise, but fans have Beetlejuice 2 to look forward to next year and that’s good enough for now.