When an actor has a career as rich as Michael Keaton’s, one might assume that picking their favourite project will be hard to do. For the iconic Batman actor, however, there’s still a lot of love for one particular outlandish film that was released back in 1988.
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In the past decade alone, Keaton has been pretty busy with films like Birdman sweeping up the Academy Awards, taking on a bird-person role again as Vulture in Spider-Man Homecoming, and returning to his original winged character in The Flash as Batman.
Meanwhile, director Tim Burton gave us one of the best Netflix shows of 2022 with Wednesday starring Jenna Ortega as the Addams Family character.
Since the release of Beetlejuice, both Burton and Keaton have had a lot of time to develop in their respective disciplines, so this sequel is an opportunity to expand upon the possibilities of the first film.
It’s Officially Happening
A Beetlejuice revival was not on anyone’s bingo cards for this decade, yet according to Michael Keaton, he’s been secretly discussing a sequel to the film with director Tim Burton for years. The two came together to create a surprise hit out of Burton’s unique art direction combined with Keaton’s unhinged comedic genius. In an interview with Empire, Keaton revealed that Beetlejuice 2 is officially happening.
One key attribute of Beetlejuice was the unique creative process, where creativity on-set was a rewarding quality. In modern Hollywood, it’s a bit difficult to have a movie that completely relies on moments of brilliance during filming. That’s why this sequel specifically retains the team’s freedom to engage in improvisation, spontaneity and randomness.
According to Keaton, having that level of independence in the creative process is what helped the first film truly come to life. “We both agreed, if it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time.” Keaton’s enthusiasm is one that easily rubs off on anyone lending a listening ear, and he’s eager to jump into filming with Burton. “Beetlejuice is the most f—ckin’ fun you can have working.” He says.
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How Will Beetlejuice Return?
It won’t be difficult to see how a character like Beetlejuice can make a return from a storytelling perspective. The freelance bio-exorcist can easily come back from the after-life waiting room to cause some trouble for the living. However, he might find himself struggling with the modern world and all the confusion that comes with missing out on real-world activities for so long.
From the details that exist so far, Jenna Ortega is starring in this movie as Lydia Deetz’s (played by Winona Ryder) daughter. Beetlejuice will be in for a shock when he encounters the child of the Goth girl he tried to wed all those years ago. Maybe this story can be a redemption for his atrocities. But we doubt that. He’s likely to get up to no good and attempt to marry her too. A few other cast members that have been revealed so far include Willem Dafoe, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci who will be playing Beetlejuice’s wife.
