Beetlejuice 2 Is The Most Fun Michael Keaton Has Had On A Film Set In A Long Time
On the heels of Michael Keaton reprising his version of the Caped Crusader from Tim Burton's "Batman" movies for director Andy Muschietti's "The Flash," the Burton-Keaton renaissance is continuing with the filming of "Beetlejuice 2." The sequel, of course, is the long-awaited follow-up to the 1988 supernatural comedy classic, and like that original film, Burton and Keaton are insistent upon going the old-school route when it comes to creating the movie's magic.
That means fans can expect practical effects in the new story about "the ghost with the most," including creature puppets and possible stop-motion animation — a game plan that equates to fun for the actor and director. "Beetlejuice is the most f***in' fun you can have working. It's so fun, it's so great," Keaton told Empire Magazine. "And you know what it is? We're doing it exactly like we did the first movie ... It's the most fun I've had working on a movie in I can't tell you how long."
Even better for the director and Keaton, the actor's co-stars from the first "Beetlejuice" — Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara — are back for the sequel, where they will be joined by new castmates Justin Theroux, and "Scream" and "Wednesday" breakout star Jenna Ortega, who will play the daughter of Ryder's Lydia Deetz. Also starring in "Beetlejuice 2" is Monica Bellucci, who has joined the cast as the titular bio-exorcist's wife.
Keaton and Burton agreed on the filmmaking approach to Beetlejuice 2 years ago
More 35 years in the making, "Beetlejuice 2" is a sequel that simply couldn't gain any traction since the ending of "Beetlejuice." A variety of screenwriters have tackled the script over the years, including David Katzenberg and his production partner Seth Grahame-Smith, the scribe behind Burton's big-screen version of the Gothic TV series classic "Dark Shadows." Finally, "Wednesday" creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar came up with a script that put the sequel into play.
Long before the final script was approved, though, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton concocted their plans of how "Beetlejuice 2" would be made. "[Burton] and I were talking about it years and years ago, never telling anybody. We've both said we're doing it many times," Keaton told Empire Magazine. "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."
Details surrounding the plot of "Beetlejuice 2" have been largely been kept under wraps. Willem Dafoe is the most recent actor to join the stacked cast for the sequel, reportedly as a deceased police officer in the afterlife. "Beetlejuice 2" is slated to open in theaters September 6, 2024.