With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice about to reach theatres, director Tim Burton and the producers are holding off on Beetlejuice 3 discussions
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to director Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE), is set to reach theatres on September 6th. Saying the title character’s name three times is the way to summon (or banish) the bio-exorcist, so naming one film Beetlejuice and next Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feels like we’re building up to a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. In fact, if there isn’t a third movie, it’s going to feel like a missed opportunity at this point. But Burton and the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice producers aren’t getting ahead of themselves. Speaking to Total Film, they revealed that they haven’t even discussed the possibility of a Beetlejuice 3 yet.
Producer Tommy Harper said, “We haven’t talked about where it could go from here, we just talked about making one really good movie. Make it the best you can, and then anything could happen.“
Tim Burton not only didn’t seem comfortable with calling Beetlejuice a franchise, but he wouldn’t even attempt to promote the second film as being bigger or better than its predecessor. He said, “I don’t know. That would make me sound like William Castle or something – ‘the biggest, the greatest, the most fabulous motion picture since Glen or Glenda!’ I hope for the best, really. I just feel good this was done in the spirit and feeling of the original. However the movie does, it was a very good experience for me in that way.” Star Michael Keaton, on the other hand, has said that the sequel has a stronger story than the first movie.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was in development hell for decades before it finally got made. In 1990, Jonathan Gems was hired to write a sequel that was going to be titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. Burton considered having Daniel Waters rewrite that script, Pamela Norris did rewrite it, and Warner Bros. offered Kevin Smith the chance to do another rewrite. He turned it down. Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write and produce a new version of a sequel in 2011. Mike Vukadinovich was brought on to rewrite his script in 2017.
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, co-creators and co-showrunners of Wednesday, have written the screenplay for Beetlejuice 2 that was actually filmed. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is producing the sequel, which filmed in London before moving to Vermont and Massachusetts.
Here’s the official synopsis: Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.
Michael Keaton is back as Beetlejuice and is joined in the cast by Winona Ryder, reprising the role of Lydia Deetz (now the host of a TV series called Ghost House with Lydia Deetz); Catherine O’Hara, back as Lydia’s stepmother Delia; Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter Astrid, Justin Theroux as Lydia’s fiancé Rory, Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife, and Willem Dafoe as a law enforcement officer in the afterlife. Arthur Conti is also in there, in an unspecified role.
Are you looking forward to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and would you like to see Tim Burton direct a Beetlejuice 3 / Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.