A sequel to 1988 cult favorite Beetlejuice 2 has been in discussion for nearly a decade now. Back in 2011, director Tim Burton announced he was working on a belated follow-up to the horror-comedy, with Michael Keaton due to return as the titular bio-exorcist. Over the years, we got the occasional update and hopeful comment, but in April of 2019, it was stated that the project had been shelved. Recently, though, the idea might’ve been taken off the shelf again.
We told you a few months back that the studio had decided to give it another go and get the long-awaited sequel off the ground and we’re now hearing that it’s finally entered active development. And better yet, we can confirm that Warner Bros. wants both Burton and Keaton back. It’s unknown if they’ve actually signed on the dotted line, but the studio is, at the very least, interested in having them return and from what we’re told, it’s expected that they will.
Not much else is known right now about the sequel, but as has previously been reported, Mike Vukadinovich has written the most recent draft of the screenplay. Though whether it’ll get a touch-up from another writer remains unclear.
And while some may still struggle to believe that a follow-up is finally happening, know that this intel comes to us from the same sources who told us Disney was doing a National Treasure 3, Lethal Weapon 5 is happening with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover and Transformers is being rebooted. We Got This Covered was the first to report on all those and they’ve all now been confirmed, so we’ve no reason to doubt this latest bit of information.
Unfortunately, it’s still unclear whether or not Winona Ryder, whose turn as goth girl Lydia Deetz in the first one was a breakout role in her career, will be back. But when there were initial rumblings of the sequel last decade, Ryder made it known she was attached alongside Burton and Keaton. It’s possible that she’ll still return, then, but it’s just that Burton and Keaton are the top two priorities at the moment, we’re told, as the project is now in active development and without either of them, there’s really no movie.Â
As always, we’ll keep you updated as and when we hear more on Beetlejuice 2, but in the meantime, let’s just all say his name three times in the hopes that it’ll make the sequel happen.
