At the studio’s eye-opening presentation at CinemaCon, Warner Bros. has confirmed Beetlejuice 2 is officially in the works. The news follows the death of legendary calypso singer Harry Belafonte, whose songs were featured on the soundtrack of the original 1988 film from director Tim Burton. Not much has been officially revealed about the project as yet, with only a title card being shown to those in an attendance.
The announcement of Beetlejuice 2 marks the end of the sequel’s whopping 35 years wallowing in development hell, which is somewhat fitting for a franchise about a poltergeist trapped in the underworld. Given the first movie’s success, the studio and Burton have been routinely attempting to get another one off the ground ever since. A decade ago, things finally looked to be getting somewhere when Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder confirmed they were ready to reprise their roles.
However, the project stalled once again for a few years there, with Burton moving on to other projects like Netflix’s Wednesday. Ironically, our first sign that Beetlejuice 2 was a-go at long last arrived earlier this year when Wednesday‘s own Jenna Ortega was reported to be joining the picture as the daughter of Lydia Deetz, Ryder’s character in the original. To date, however, it’s unclear if Ryder or Keaton will return.
As for the rest of the cast’s potential comebacks, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin seem like outside chances, given the unaging nature of their ghostly characters, the Maitlands. Although if Burton fails to get Catherine O’Hara back as Lydia’s larger-than-life stepmother Delia Deetz (a kind of proto-Moira Rose), there will be riots.