Tim Burton rules out Edward Scissorhands and Nightmare Before Christmas sequels

It took thirty-six years, but director Tim Burton finally got around to making a sequel to his 1988 hit Beetlejuice – and with that sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, having made over $450 million at the global box office, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that Warner Bros. wants another sequel. Burton has said not to expect Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice from him… but perhaps he could be persuaded. We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, Burton has completely ruled out the idea of making sequels to two other films on his résumé, Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Speaking with IndieWire, Burton said, “There are certain films I don’t want to make a sequel to. I didn’t want to make a sequel to (Edward Scissorhands) because it felt like a one-off thing. I didn’t want to have a sequel for The Nightmare Before Christmas because it also felt like a one-off thing. Certain things are best left on their own and that for me is one of them.“

Burton directed the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands from a script he crafted with novelist Caroline Thompson. The synopsis: A scientist builds an animated human being, the gentle Edward, but dies before he can finish assembling him. This leaves the young man with a freakish appearance accentuated by the scissor blades he has instead of hands. Loving suburban saleswoman Peg discovers Edward and takes him home, where he falls for Peg’s teen daughter. However, despite his kindness and artistic talent, Edward’s hands make him an outcast. The film stars Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, Kathy Baker, Vincent Price, and Alan Arkin.

Although The Nightmare Before Christmas is often mistakenly referred to as one of Burton’s directorial efforts, the stop-motion animated movie was actually directed by Henry Selick. Burton produced it and came up with the story, which was then fleshed out by writers Michael McDowell (who also worked on Beetlejuice) and Caroline Thompson. The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington, Halloweentown’s beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the “real world.” When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life. He plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry. Chris Sarandon, Danny Elfman, Catherine O’Hara, William Hickey, Glenn Shadix, Paul Reubens, Ken Page, Ed Ivory, and Joe Ranft provided the vocal performances.

Burton passionately spoke out against the idea of any further stories being told in the world of The Nightmare Before Christmas last year, despite the fact that Selick and Sarandon have both expressed interest in making a prequel.

What do you think of Tim Burton ruling out any sort of follow-ups to Edward Scissorhands or The Nightmare Before Christmas? Let us know by leaving a comment below.