In the 28 years that Tim Burton has been making feature-length films he’s made a sequel only once: “Batman Returns,” the 1992 sequel to “Batman” in 1989. Of course there is “Frankenweenie,” but that’s a feature-length remake/expansion Burton’s 1984 short film of the same name. And while the Halloween-friendly filmmaker has managed to avoid sequels for two decades since, he’s about to jump into that fray once more with a sequel to 1988’s “Beetlejuice.”
While the rumor had been circling unsubstantiated around the Internet for the last few days, The Wrap confirms that Burton is actually in talks to helm the sequel that is being penned by Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg, the screenwriters of Burton’s “Dark Shadows,” the Burton-produced “Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” and the as-of-yet unproduced “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (they’re also doing a polish on the “Fantastic Four” reboot).
Michael Keaton is expected to reprise his role as the titular character and apparently Burton’s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” has potentially been moved aside for this movie and may no longer be his next project (though The Wrap notes, Burton doesn’t know what he’s making next and “Beetlejuice 2” wouldn’t likely be it, regardless). In 2012, Burton wasn’t sure if he would direct the sequel should it get made, but didn’t seem opposed to the idea either. “I don’t know if I would ever know a good script if it bit me in the face. But, I know what I like, so we’ll see.”
When Warner Bros. approached Grahame-Smith and Katzenberg about writing the script, the duo said, “The only way we’d do it if we got Tim [Burton’s] blessing and involvement, and we got that, and the star of the movie has to be Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, and it’s a true continuation 26 years later,” Grahame-Smith said. “Not just throwing him in as a cameo going, ‘Hey, it’s me. I endorse this movie.’ ” Looks like they got their wish.
Thoughts? Personally, this writer doesn’t care for this idea at all, but then again, I’m not a huge Tim Burton fan. Maybe the hardcore fans would rather not let this one live in their memories and continue onscreen?
