Tim Burton Confirms BEETLEJUICE 2 Involvement

Warner Bros hope the 26 years later sequel would see Michael Keaton reprise his much loved title role.

By Matt Holmes /

First announced back in September, Warner Bros are moving ahead with a sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 breakthrough comedy, Beetlejuice. Seth Grahame-Smith, writer of Burton's new movie Dark Shadows, pitched the idea for the unlikely sequel from the ground up last year which got WB excited. He is currently developing his screenplay as a 26 years later follow-up, which it is hoped would once again star Michael Keaton reprising one his most memorable roles. Indeed Grahame-Smith previously said;
"the star of the movie has to be Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, and it€™s a true continuation 26 years later. Not just throwing him in as a cameo going, €˜Hey, it€™s me. I endorse this movie.€™ We€™re not there yet, because we don€™t have a film to present to him.€
But what of Tim Burton himself? No director has yet been spoken of for the film but there is a feeling that Seth Grahame-Smith and producer David Katzenberg want Tim Burton to return to the franchise. Which is no easy task as Burton is known to hate sequels and vowed to never make another one after Batman Returns (and he hasn't... to date) but with Grahame-Smith being a writer he likes (he has also wrote Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter that Burton has produced for a release this summer) and a big nostalgia for what was such a milestone film in his career, maybe he is reachable for this? MTV News has caught up with Burton and asked him about Beetlejuice 2 and he confirmed he is definitely on board in some capacity, likely as producer for now;
"Yes," responded Burton when asked if he was involved with the project. "I love that character, and Michael is so great in it. I always think about how great and fun that character was, so I just said to Seth , 'If you have some idea about it, go for it, and then I'll look at it freshly... In the past, I tried some things, but that was way back when. He seemed really excited about it."
The previous attempts at a sequel Burton is talking about is the infamous early '90s attempt with Beetlejuice Goes To Hawaii which clearly won't have any relation to this new sequel attempt.