Highlights
- 'Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian,' sequel to the cult classic, was scrapped despite the original cast sign-ons and script rewrites.
- Attempts to create the original 'Beetlejuice' sequel faced setbacks but Brad Pitt's involvement led to the Beetlejuice revival in 2022.
- Tim Burton, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton return for the long-awaited sequel, 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice', set to release in 2024.
Tim Burton's cult classic, 1988’s Beetlejuice was a surprise hit at the box office and even spawned a popular '90s animated series. The film grossed $75 million at the box office off a $15 million budget, so of course, Warner Bros executives had instant plans for a second film. Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian was meant to be a sequel to the hit film, but struggles behind the scenes made creating the original Beetlejuice sequel so difficult.
A statement was even released by the producers of the first film stating a sequel would likely never get made, even though most of the original cast, including Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, had already signed on to make the second movie back in the '90s.
In the following, we take a look at what happened to the original Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian and what Brad Pitt has to do with finally getting the Beetlejuice sequel to happen?
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Beetlejuice was a surprise hit with moviegoers at the time, and it was obvious at the time that Warner Bros. would make a follow-up to the successful horror-comedy. The film made Tim Burton a household name, so he was on board when Warner Bros gave him the go-ahead for a Beetlejuice sequel and even hired Jonathan Gems in 1990 to write the script titled, Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. According to Gems, Burton wanted the sequel to follow Betelgueuse and the Deetz family when they moved to Hawaii to build a resort.
The original Beetlejuice sequel’s plot would have seen the Deetz family move to Hawaii, where Charles was developing a resort built on a burial ground on the ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. In Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, Lydia summons the demon to put a stop to her father’s ventures and rescue some locals who had been trying to stop the construction on sacred land.
Since the first film ended with Betelgeuse returning to the afterlife, the sequel would have seen him being summoned to Hawaii to wreak havoc in the human world but with a different twist.
Beetlejuice still tries to marry Lydia, but this time doses her with a love potion before summoning monsters to kill everyone. But Otho saves the day when he yells Beetlejuice’s name three times and sends him back to hell. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder signed on for the second film, however, Warner Bros was more excited about making the sequel to the 1989 Batman, so Michael Keaton and Tim Burton set out to make 1992’s Batman Returns.
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Tim Burton was still interested in Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian in 1991, when he hired Daniel Waters’ to rewrite the script after his work on Heathers. From then until 1996, Warner Bros. and The Geffen Company, which made the first film, had the script rewritten several times until 1997.
Jonathan Gems, who wrote the first Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script, released a statement saying the producer, David Geffen’s company still owned the script and the movie would likely never get made.
“You really couldn’t do it now anyway. Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it.”
After Gems’ statement, there was no news about the Beetlejuice sequel for years, until 2011 when Warner Bros enlisted Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincon: Vampire Hunter writer Seth Grahame-Smith to write and produce the Beetlejuice sequel. The following year, Seth revealed he met with both Keaton and Burton to talk about doing another movie.
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Alec Baldwin has had plenty of acting gigs since, but he was worried about appearing in 'Beetlejuice' back in the day.“They all said the same thing if you come up with a good enough script. Something that’s not about cashing in, is not about forcing a remake or a reboot down someone’s throat, then we’ll think about it.”
In 2013, Winona Ryder confirmed to The Daily Beast that she was on board to play Beetlejuice's Lydia again for the sequel saying, “I’m kind of sworn to secrecy, but it sounds like it might be happening.” The Stranger Things star revealed that it would not be a remake instead a new movie set 27 years after the first. “I love Lydia so much. She was a huge part of me.”
In 2014, Tim Burton confirmed he would be directing the sequel . “It's a character that I love, and I miss actually working with Michael. There’s only one Betelgeuse. We’re working on a script and I think it's probably closer than ever and I’d love to work with him again.”
In 2015, Grahame-Smith confirmed filming would begin at the end of the year, however, Burton dimmed hopes of a sequel in May 2016. He said, "I do love the character and Michael is amazing as that character, so yeah, we’ll see. But there’s nothing concrete yet.” And, in 2019, Warner Bros told USA Today, “The project isn’t in active development.”
Brad Pitt Revived The Beetlejuice Sequel
News of a Beetlejuice 2 surfaced again in 2022 after Hollywood A-lister, Brad Pitt stepped in to get the film made. Through his production company, Plan B Entertainment, Brad Pitt got Warner Bros to get back to reviving the long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel. Tim Burton came back to direct the film, with Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton also agreeing to reprise their roles from the hit 1988 film. In 2023, Variety reported that Wednesday star Jenna Ortega would join the cast of Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice as Lydia Deetz’s daughter, Astrid.
Tim Burton enlisted Wednesday creators, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar to write a new script for the film titled, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Other actors who signed on for the upcoming Beetlejuice film included William Dafoe, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, and Burn Gorman. Filming began in March 2023 and wrapped in November of that year due to delays caused by the SAG-AFTRA strike. The Beetlejuice sequel is finally expected to be released in early September 2024.
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