In theaters now, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton have re-teamed for Disney’s Dumbo, but what about that sequel to Beetlejuice that has been teased for many, many years now? Last we had heard, Warner Bros. was still actively developing a new Beetlejuice movie, but it’s been a while since we’ve been provided with any sort of update. And this latest one isn’t good.
As reported by USA Today, Warner Bros. is reportedly no longer developing “Beetlejuice 2,” with the studio’s spokeswoman telling the site: “The project isn’t in active development.”
When Burton himself was asked what’s going on with the sequel, he replied:
“Nothing, nothing. I don’t know. I doubt it [will happen].”
“The bottom line is, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton are not going to think about a Beetlejuice sequel unless it somehow catches the energy of the first film,” Larry Wilson, one of the 1988 movie’s writers, told the site. “And that’s not easy. Beetlejuice really was lightning in a bottle. But there have been discussions since it really shocked everyone in 1988. And in terms of Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, wiser heads prevailed. Thank God there’s a level of integrity here.”
Jonathan Gems had written the script for the aborted Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian many years ago, and more recently, both Seth Grahame-Smith and Mike Vukadinovich had been hired to pen new iterations of a follow-up. As of a few years ago, Burton, Keaton and even Winona Ryder had all expressed interest in coming back for more, but don’t hold your breath.
