If you’ve seen the Tim Burton-directed classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE), you know that the key to summoning (or sending away) the title character is saying his name three times. So when Beetlejuice 2 finally went into production, with Burton back at the helm, thirty-five years after the release of the original film, I saw fans suggesting the title of the film should be Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Obviously the filmmakers agreed that was a clever idea, because it has been confirmed that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the film’s title. This is revealed in a poster that can be seen at the bottom of this article… and while Deadline is claiming the 2024 A.D. bit is part of the title as well, we’re skeptical about that one.
Beetlejuice 2 was in development hell for decades before it finally got made. 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 was actually 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 this sequel 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. Plus Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to reach theatres on September 6th. Here’s hoping it will be a success, because now the title of the movie has set up another sequel. You can’t make Beetlejuice Beetlejuice if there’s not going to be a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
What do you think of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as an official title? Let us know by leaving a comment below.