It’s been more than three decades in the making, but director Tim Burton and star Michael Keaton have finally reunited for a “Beetlejuice” sequel. Officially (and cleverly) titled “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the Oscar-nominated actor is back in the black and white as the undead villain, with Burton back in the director’s chair, just as it was in 1988. While much has changed, such as the addition of newcomers like “Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega, the title character at the heart of the film is very much his old self. Much of that has to do with Burton and Keaton agreeing on what defines Beetlejuice to his core.
/Film’s Jacob Hall attended a press event for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which included a group interview with Burton. During the conversation with assembled journalists, Burton addressed whether or not there was any temptation to change Beetlejuice into more of a hero for the sequel. The director made it clear that was never on the table:
“My whole career is people [saying], ‘This is too dark,’ which I never saw my films as dark. I’ve seen much darker films than my films. I don’t really know what they’re talking about. But I think Mike and I both love the fact that he was politically incorrect then and he’s politically incorrect now. I’m just laughing because somebody asked him the other day, ‘So Mike, how does Beetlejuice’s character evolve?’ And we just started laughing because he doesn’t evolve. That’s the whole point.”
Both Burton and Keaton are making it clear that this is very much a return to the character audiences know and love. It seems to be a far cry from the once-pitched “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian” that nearly got made in the ’90s. Fortunately, everything came together when the time was right.
Playing it fast and loose with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
While audiences haven’t yet had the chance to weigh in on the sequel, early indications suggest Keaton went all-in. To that end, Burton has compared the actor’s performance in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” to a “demonic possession” of sorts, with Keaton snapping right back into character. It’s one of those “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” situations. The original “Beetlejuice” is a great many things, but broken isn’t one of them.
Burton also said during the group interview that they “didn’t rehearse anything” before adding that “It was unnerving. It was great. It was exciting, but it was really also disturbing.” Speaking a little further, the director also explained that they were more than happy to improv and work things out on set, even if that did make things more challenging, given the lack of reliance on CGI in the film:
“That’s what gave the film its energy. We’d make up stuff every day, which is kind of hard to do when you’re dealing with all live effects. But we did it and I worked with the effects people who, in the spirit of the movie, would make these things very quickly. Mike and I talked about this from the very beginning that [it] was very important to the spirit, especially with all the technology we do, all this stuff, whatever. We just wanted to kind of not think about sequel or anything, just go and just make the movie. That energy of what he brought back to it was amazing and crucial.”
Remarkably, Burton was getting ready to retire before this movie came along. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” proved to be a reinvigorating experience for him, which is good news given that this is the man who gave us classics such as 1989’s “Batman,” “Sleepy Hollow,” and “Big Fish,” among others. With any luck, this will be the first film in a return-to-form era for the filmmaker, perhaps with Keaton by his side for another project or two.
“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” hits theaters on September 6, 2024.
