Tim Burton Talks About The “Strange Phenomenon” Of His Studio Career, His Foiled ‘House Of Wax’ Musical With Michael Jackson & More

After a career spanning nearly forty years, Tim Burton shows no signs of slowing down, even if it’s been three years since his last film, the live-action Disney remake of “Dumbo.” Up next for the auteur? “Wednesday,” his Netflix series based on “The Addams Family” character, starring Jenny Ortega. At the Lumière Festival in Lyon, Deadline caught up with Burton, who talked about his studio career, Johnny Depp, and a lost musical project with Michael Jackson.  

READ MORE: ‘Wednesday’ Series Clip: Wednesday & Thing Interact In Tim Burton’s Comedic Reboot

But first, why so much time between “Wednesday” and “Dumbo”? In Burton’s words, “It has gotten a lot harder [to make films],” Burton told Deadline. “I’ve been around for a long time. Studios used to be run by people who had made movies, or at least had some connection to it, but then it was taken over by business and lawyers so people who don’t really understand or have a feel for film.” Burton did mention that he sees the filmmaking element returning to the studios, however. “Although I am noticing people back in the studios who have made movies so there are some promising signs.”

Burton also highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic as a major reason for not making a new movie recently. “The pandemic really happened around the same time as when the studios said they were moving to streaming. I felt movies were in a weird transitionary time and people didn’t know what to do, what to make and the studios were very frozen,” he said. “I did step back a little bit and worked on thoughts and ideas but it’s such an important thing that the next thing I do I really need to feel means something to me. Something happened with the industry but I am ready to go back in there.” There’s no word on what Burton’s next project will be, but expect it to have his usual dark flair, especially if it means something important to him.

As for lost projects, Burton lamented the several ones that he ended up shelving over the years. “I have worked for several months on things that go rejected,” said the filmmaker. One of his favorites? A musical rendition of the horror movie “House Of Wax,” with Michael Jackson to star. “They said ‘no.’ Can you believe that?” Burton laughed, and added that Jackson had been the only person involved besides him who was truly on board for that one.

Even with that project and a few others lost to the decisions of higher-ups, Burton has had a successful career as a studio director. In fact, he considers his career a “strange phenomenon” because he maintained an independent artistry within the studio system for almost his entire career. “I started out as an animator at Disney and made a couple of short films and then from my first film, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure,” I only worked with studios,” he said. “I was a strange phenomenon in a way. I had some kind of independence, basically because they didn’t understand what I was doing, but still, I maneuvered my way, not through independent film, but through the studios.”

But Burton didn’t quite have the creative freedom of his New Hollywood forebears, who pushed the limits of American filmmaking in the 1960s and 70s. Burton blamed the rise of the blockbuster for that shift from the New Hollywood mentality, a pressure he felt when he made “Batman” in 1989. “When I first did “Batman,” I’d never heard of the word ‘franchise’. After that, it became something else,’ he said. “It did feel very exciting to be at the beginning of all of it. It’s amazing how much it hasn’t really changed in a sense – the tortured superhero, weird costumes – but for me, at the time it was very exciting. It felt new. The thing that is funny about it now is, people go ‘What do you think of the new “Batman”?’ and I start laughing and crying because I go back to a time capsule, where pretty much every day the studios were saying, ‘It’s too dark, it’s too dark’. Now it looks like a lighthearted romp.”  

But Burton also sounded grateful for the career he’s had, especially the rapport he built over a number of films with actor Johnny Depp. “I first met him when I did “Edward Scissorhands,” said Burton. “He was a bit similar to me, kind of suburban, white trash, whatever – we connected on some kind of level. It wasn’t even a verbal understanding, it was just somebody I could feel liked to do characters, who was interested in acting for the art of it and not so much for the business of it. He was somebody who would play Scissorhands or Ed [in “Ed Wood“] and all these different things.” Burton and Depp last worked together on 2012’s “Dark Shadows.”

Perhaps Burton and Depp will team up again soon for the director’s return to the big screen? The major factor there, outside of the aftermath of Depp’s scandalous defamation trial with Amber Heard, is how “Wednesday” fares after it premieres on Netflix on November 23.