While legendary director Tim Burton has left his mark on a number of well-established franchises (Batman, Alice In Wonderland, and even a few Roald Dahl adaptations), his much-beloved, dark comedy Beetlejuice is still considered one of his best movies to date.
Sure, Burton has been criticized for a handful of blunders over the past couple of decades (here’s looking at you, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), but it’s hard to fault his 1988 classic. Beetlejuice was a mish-mash of sharp, clever writing and bizarre horror, and it propelled Michael Keaton to stardom. Of course, Keaton and Burton went on to collaborate on multiple projects — not only did the pair reunite for Batman and Batman Returns, but Keaton recently starred in Burton’s reimagining of the classic Disney animated film, Dumbo.
While rumors have been circulating (for some time now) regarding a follow-up – tentatively titled Beetlejuice 2 – it seems all hopes of seeing Michael Keaton sporting green hair again have been dashed. As reported by ComicBook.com, Burton was asked about the rumored sequel at the premiere of Dumbo, and his answer doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
When USA Today prodded Burton to provide an update on a second Beetlejuice, he simply replied, “Nothing, nothing.” When asked if a sequel was ever going to happen, he responded, “I don’t know. I doubt it.”
While this may come as a shock for longtime fans, it’s worth noting that the chances of a Beetlejuice sequel have always been slim. Back in 2016, Burton himself had “nothing concrete” to report, and Michael Keaton himself has also weighed in on the matter, arguing that the original film was “sacred” and that it should be left alone. While Warner Bros. hired writer Mike Vukadinovich to pen a screenplay back in 2017, no concrete news regarding Beetlejuice 2 has come to light since then, leaving us feeling like this is one project that’ll probably never see the light of day.