There has been a lot of love for sequels and prequels in recent years. From Ghostbusters: Afterlife to the most recent Top Gun: Maverick, sequels are staking their claim on 2022 and doing quite well with the box office, with Maverick earning $300 million so far. With all the talk of continuing sagas, fans of another long-awaited sequel are curious about the story the project will tell. Beetlejuice 2, a continuation of the 1988 cult classic, is already generating a lot of buzz. However, this isn’t the first time a sequel has been promised.

In 1988, an American fantasy comedy told the story of a lovely couple, played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. They find themselves recently deceased and are forced to haunt their house to get rid of its new inhabitants. However, when their plans don’t work out quite right, and they find themselves befriending the youngest boarder, Lydia Deetz, played by Winona Ryder, they decide to contact Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice), played by Michael Keaton. Beetlejuice is an obnoxious and devious “bio-exorcist” from the Netherworld who claims to be able to scare away the new tenants of the Maitland’s home. However, his plans soon veer to include Lydia as well.

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The film was a commercial success in its time, grossing $74.2 million worldwide, nearly five times its budget. The film went on to win an Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film, Best Makeup, and Best Supporting Actress to Sylvia Sidney. The film spawned an animated television series, multiple video games, and a 2018 stage musical nominated for several Tony Awards. Needless to say, the original movie soon became a cult classic with its wild and crazy characters and wacky, zany backdrops.

The Forgotten Beetlejuice Sequel

     Warner Bros. Pictures

In 1990, Burton wanted to create a sequel titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. The story would follow the Deetz family as they move to Hawaii and employ the help of Beetlejuice when facing off with an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. Keaton and Ryder had agreed to do the film, but Burton and Keaton soon became distracted by Batman Returns.

Burton was still interested in early 1991. However, in 1993, producer David Geffen hired a new writer for a rewrite. Warner Bros. approached Kevin Smith in 1996 to do a rewrite, but Smith turned it down. He later joked, “Didn’t we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?” It was soon deduced that the sequel would never get made, and it was shelved.

In 2011, Warner Bros. hired Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 2012) to write and produce a new sequel. Grahame-Smith signed on and wanted to create a sequel worth doing. He claimed this was a project he wanted to do right by and that it wasn’t just “about forcing a remake or a reboot down someone’s throat.”

However, nothing ever was heard of the sequel after that and in 2017 another writer was hired for yet another rewrite. In 2019 the project was shelved and screenwriter Larry Wilson said “Tim Burton and Michael Keaton [would] not think about a Beetlejuice sequel unless it somehow [caught] the energy of the first film.” With that, fans assumed that was it for the possible new film.

The Promise of a New Beetlejuice Story

In February of 2022, Beetlejuice 2 was announced again, but this time produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment alongside Warner Bros. Pictures. Keaton and Ryder have also been confirmed in reprising their roles.

Ryder commented on the news in an interview with Seth Meyers on his late-night show stating, “Um, I think I can confirm it…Tim Burton…did an on-camera interview, and he said, ‘oh yeah, we’re doing it, and Winona’s going to be in it.” Keaton had even commented on the film as early as 2014 saying that this was the only sequel he has ever been interested in doing.

The unconfirmed IMDb storyline reads:

Not much else is known about the film other than principal photography is slated to begin this summer, and it has been scheduled for release in 2025. Fans are hoping this sequel will stick and that they won’t have to wait another 37 years to see the Netherworld’s favorite bio-exorcist.