Beetlejuice only had 17 minutes of screen time in the original film, and Michael Keaton didn’t want too much more in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
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 – and when we go to check it out, it sounds like we shouldn’t expect to see a whole lot more of the title character than we saw in the original film. Apparently Beetlejuice only had 17 minutes of screen time in Beetlejuice, which had a running time of 92 minutes, and while speaking to GQ magazine, Michael Keaton – the actor who brings Beetlejuice to life – revealed that he didn’t want to pack too much Beetlejuice into the follow-up.
Keaton said, “The idea was, no, no, no, you can’t load it up with Beetlejuice, that’ll kill it. I think the Beetlejuice character doesn’t drive the story as much as he did in the first one. He’s more part of the storyline in this one as opposed to the first one, which is a case of, this thing comes in and drives the movie a little bit.” He has previously said that he feels the sequel has a stronger story than the first movie had.
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.
As mentioned, 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 are you glad to hear that Beetlejuice doesn’t have too much screen time in it? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.