The Big Picture

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits down with Michael Keaton for Tim Burton’s long-awaited sequel,
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
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The follow-up to the original 1988 film brings three generations of the Deetz family back to where it all began, with Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara reprising their roles, and introducing Jenna Ortega.
Keaton discusses why he and Burton felt it was time to revisit the characters after four decades, as well as what had to change this time around.

In 1988, Michael Keaton managed to steal hearts and souls by making an unforgettable original antihero come to life in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. Then, like the demon bio-exorcist himself, the IP lay dormant for nearly four decades before the filmmaker returned for a sequel, along with Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara to reprise their roles in the aptly-titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. So what brought them back? And what can fans expect from a saucy Beetlejuice in 2024?

When tragedy befalls them, the Deetz family returns to Winter River, Connecticut, back to the very house where Lydia (Ryder) first met Beetlejuice. When her teenage daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega, discovers the mysterious model town in the attic, the portal to the Afterlife is once again opened, unleashing the chaos of the dead and, once again, the mischievous Beetlejuice.

In this interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Keaton discusses why he and Tim Burton felt it was time to revisit these characters all these years later. He talks about his initial apprehension about taking on Beetlejuice once more, the gigantic big swings they took on the original film, and why they tiptoed right up to that line with the sequel. You can watch the full interview in the video above, or read the transcript below.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.Release Date September 6, 2024 Studio

Why Did Michael Keaton and Tim Burton Decide It Was Time to Return to ‘Beetlejuice’?
Hint: The writers of Wednesday had something to do with it.

PERRI NEMIROFF: I was reading that you and Tim both had the same reservations about making another Beetlejuice movie. “If something feels right, we’ll do it.” Do you remember the very first moment you realized this particular script felt right, and it was the one?

MICHAEL KEATON: It wasn’t like that exactly. He said, “Read it, I think I’ve got something that we can work from.” I was surprised because I thought it was better than something to work from. I thought, “Well, this is farther along than that.” You have to understand that you can’t say, “Oh, yes, that’s it. Don’t touch a word,” because that’s not how the movies, the two we made, worked. It just didn’t work like that. It wasn’t like, “Okay, now you say this, and then that happens.” We kind of create it on the spot. But I will say the story was really solid, the writing was really good, and they understood the tone of it. I think Tim worked with them, [Miles Millar and Alfred Gough], while he was doing Wednesday.

That makes sense. It definitely feels like a firm understanding of the type of play that needs to happen with this character and this world.

Another thing I was reading is that you were a little nervous to return to the role. Was there a single aspect of playing Beetlejuice again that made you think, “I don’t know if I can do this again?”

KEATON: With filmmaking, you’ve got to keep up a level of energy and pace and focus, and I didn’t know what the vibe was gonna be or the process was gonna be. We shot in this little studio down at Culver City, a cool, legendary kind of place. I think they made some silent movies on some of these stages. But when I went over there, you don’t know how it’s gonna work or what the pace of things is gonna be. I didn’t know. So, I just went in saying, “Well, I’m just gonna do what we did the first time as close as I can.” Tim had already seen it; it was just totally clear in his head.

If 1988 you could watch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice , what is something you do in this movie that would make him go, “My god, I can’t believe I’ll get to do that with this character one day?”

KEATON: You have to understand when we went back, I was just talking about this idea Tim had while we were shooting the scene. He said, “Hey, I don’t know if this is gonna work, but dot-dot-dot,” and then I said, “Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea.” We shot it, I saw it, and I went, “Oh, that’s really funny.” That happens a lot.

‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Is More “Politically Correct,” But Just Barely
Keaton compares the improv of the original film to the sequel.

I’ll follow up on that a little. I know there was a lot of play on this set, and you didn’t stick to every single word in the script.

KEATON: [Laughs] We don’t stick to any of ‘em.

Was there any particular really big swing you took on set during a scene that made you think, “They’re never going to use this,” but Tim embraced it, and now it’s in the finished film?

KEATON: There was a lot of that in the first one. In fact, it was like one gigantic big swing. Less so now because we knew we could get away with more. It’s weird, we had to be a tiny, tiny, tiny, bit more politically correct, but we didn’t even think about that too much. A couple of times, we went, “Yeah, maybe not,” and then we went right up to it.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits theaters in the US on September 6. Click the link below for showtimes:

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