In the modern era, it seems like every concept with the slightest amount of name recognition will eventually be the proud owner of a new legacy sequel or a full reboot. However, some franchises work at their sequel for decades, only to continue coming up empty-handed. Beetlejuice fans have been braying for a return since the 90s, but they might finally have something to look forward to.
The original Beetlejuice is a fairly simple film that suggests a much deeper world of fantasy concepts beyond its bounds. But, it made almost $80 million on a $15 million budget, so the sequel seemed inevitable. It seemed a foregone conclusion when creators started working on it. Thirty years later, it seems much more questionable.
Simply put, as of February 2022, the Beetlejuice sequel is said to be in production at Warner Bros. Most of the photography was supposed to have happened within the year, but there hasn't been a word spoken about it since Spring. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder were slated to return to their roles, but Tim Burton was not attached to direct. In October, he stated that his involvement was possible, but no news has come out on that front either. The only names attached to a theoretical Beetlejuice sequel aside from the main stars are Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt's production company Plan B. The long and short of it is that they announced the project almost a year ago, then went silent. It's entirely possible that the cast and crew have been quietly toiling away for almost a year without so much as a production still to show for it. It's also entirely possible that they're still in the blue-sky manifesting phase of the project, but it's taking longer than they thought. Unfortunately, it's also possible that the announcement was premature, and the project has stalled.
Released in 1988, Beetlejuice was the first script to catch Tim Burton's attention after the massive success of Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Burton had already started work on his Batman, but studios simply weren't willing to hand him the necessary rights and budget to make that project. The director received a ton of scripts, including the noted critical and commercial failure Hot to Trot, which went on to win multiple Razzie Awards. Screenwriter Michael McDowell had previously worked with Burton on an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and his pitch for the director was much more appealing. The production of the film was a bit of a mess. Casting actors was tough because several movie stars were put off by the script. McDowell was eventually removed due to creative differences, leading to an entirely different screenplay. There's basically an entirely different movie that was abandoned during the process of making Beetlejuice, but the movie that came out was a hit. It's not shocking that its eventual successor would have some struggles of its own.
The Beetlejuice sequel underwent at least two previous attempts. In 1990, Burton hired Mars Attacks! screenwriter Jonathan Gems to write Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. The pitch genuinely sounds like a parody of the glut of unnecessary sequels. It's a mid-tier idea for a Munsters episode. The Deetz family would've moved to Hawaii, where Jeffery Jones' character Charles would've set to work building a resort. The building process would've awoken a powerful Hawaiian native spirit who would start causing chaos. This would allow Betelgeuse to appear as the hero by beating the new vengeful spirit in a surf competition. This is the actual idea Burton had. He was fascinated by the idea of filming a beach movie in his German Expressionism style because it would look wrong on purpose. This concept wasn't meant to be because the now-defunct Geffen Film Company owned the rights. Scholars may debate forever whether the project's cancelation was a positive or negative outcome.
More recently, a new pitch for the sequel began life in 2011. Novelist Seth Grahame-Smith was brought in by WB to write and produce the film. At that time, both Ryder's and Keaton's return was contingent on a quality script and Burton's return was contingent upon their return. News came out sporadically over the following eight years. In early 2015, Grahame-Smith said on TV that the script was finished and filming would soon begin. That turned out to be untrue when in 2017 Kidding producer Mike Vukadinovich was hired to rewrite the script. Another two-year period of silence followed. In 2019, WB shelved the project. Thus ended the second failed attempt to make a sequel to Beetlejuice. To quote Burton in 2016; "It's not a kind of a movie that cries out for a sequel."
Attempt #3 on Beetlejuice 2 once showed signs of life, but it's been awfully quiet for a long time. The beloved stage musical that came out in 2018 could have reignited enough love for the property to push things over the top. WB could finally find the right combination of cast and crew to dig up the brand name. At the moment, fans shouldn't be holding their breath. Beetlejuice may come back from the dead yet, but don't be shocked if this slow demise is the one that finally sticks.