Don’t get your hopes up for Beetlejuice 3, as Tim Burton jokes he’ll be “about 100” by the time he gets around to it

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will be released in theaters next week, arriving thirty-six years after the release of the first movie. Given the positive first reactions to the sequel, fans have already begun wondering about Beetlejuice 3. Will it happen? I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

While speaking with THR during the London premiere, director Tim Burton was asked about a possible Beetlejuice 3. “Well, if [the same] time frame goes on, I’ll be about 100,” Burton said. “So maybe. I doubt it.” As for why now was the right time for a Beetlejuice sequel, Burton explained that it all came down to Winona Ryder’s character. “Well, because the Lydia character (Ryder) interested me,” Burton said. “Getting older is where you start thinking about what happens in life. [She] starts as a cool teenager. Relationships… Do you have kids? What are they like? What do you like? How do you change? These are all things that I know and experience. So it felt more right to make this now, rather than back in, like, 1989.“

Producer Tommy Harper also recently said that they haven’t even discussed another sequel. “We haven’t talked about where it could go from here, we just talked about making one really good movie,” Harper said. “Make it the best you can, and then anything could happen.“

As with most potential sequels, it typically comes down to the box office. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is projected to open big, with anywhere between $65-$80 million. It also helps that those first reactions have been so positive. Our own Eric Walkuski was a big fan. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an enjoyable, fast-paced bit of lunacy from Tim Burton that should please the many who’ve waited decades for its arrival. It certainly leans into nostalgia throughout, but it also manages to have some bizarre new tricks up its sleeve; it’s not just another retread playing the Greatest Hits from the original,” Walkuski said. “The returning characters are a sight for sore eyes, with Keaton and Ryder not missing a beat reprising their iconic roles, though it’s Catherine O’Hara who absolutely steals the show as the ever-frenetic Delia. There might be one subplot too many (the film juggles about three or four of them), but overall it’s a welcome return to zany form for Burton.“

Here’s the official synopsis for Beetlejuice Beetljuice: “Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.” The film will be released in U.S. theaters on September 6th.