Director Tim Burton was only a day and a half from being able to wrap production on his latest movie, Beetlejuice 2 – which, of course, happens to be the long-awaited (it’s been thirty-five years!) sequel to his classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE) – when the Screen Actors Guild strike hit in July. When the strike ended earlier this month, Beetlejuice 2 was able to go back into production. Now Burton has taken to Instagram to celebrate the end of filming by sharing a picture of himself sitting on a familiar set. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.
The SAG strike delay was very minor compared to what this project has been through over the years. Beetlejuice 2 was in development hell for decades. In 1990, Jonathan Gems was hired to write a sequel that was going to be titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. Burton considered having Daniel Waters rewrite that script, Pamela Norris did rewrite it, and Warner Bros. offered Kevin Smith the chance to do another rewrite. He turned it down. Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write and produce a new version of a sequel in 2011. Mike Vukadinovich was brought on to rewrite his script in 2017.
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, co-creators and co-showrunners of Wednesday, have written the screenplay for Beetlejuice 2 that is actually being filmed. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is producing the sequel, which filmed in London before moving to Vermont and Massachusetts.
Winona Ryder reprises the role of Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice 2 and is joined in the cast by Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter; Catherine O’Hara, back as Lydia’s stepmother Delia; Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife, Willem Dafoe as a law enforcement officer in the afterlife, and Justin Theroux in an unspecified role. Of course, Michael Keaton is reprising the role of Beetlejuice.
Written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren from a story McDowell crafted with Larry Wilson, the original Beetlejuice has the following synopsis: What’s a yuppie ghost couple to do when their quaint New England home is overrun by trendy New Yorkers? They hire a freelance ‘bio-exorcist’ to spook the intruders. And everyone gets more than he, she or it bargained for! Director Tim Burton teams with Michael Keaton. The result? ‘Keaton’s Beetlejuice is one of the biggest, baddest wolves a ghost movie has ever unleashed, a polter-gas’ (The Village Voice). He’s a juggernaut of jokes, jolts and jive who hurls one-liners, spins into grotesque forms, gobbles insects and can’t leave ladies (living or dead) alone. So exorcise your right to fun. Say the ‘B’ word three times and have a wonderful Day-O!
Beetlejuice 2 is heading toward a September 6, 2024 theatrical release. Are you looking forward to this one? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Here’s the picture Burton shared to celebrate the end of filming: