Beetlejuice (franchise)

Beetlejuice is an American dark fantasy horror comedy media franchise that originated with the film Beetlejuice (1988). The overall plot centers around a deceased couple who try to haunt the new inhabitants of their former home and call for help from a devious bio-exorcist ghost named Betelgeuse (after the star, due to being part of the constellation named after the Greek god Orion, who is famous for his hunting prowess and desire to kill every animal on earth; the name is pronounced and often spelled "Beetlejuice"), who is summoned by saying his name three times. One of the new inhabitants is a young girl, Lydia, who is dealing with her mother's death and her neglectful father.

The original film was met with critical and commercial success and numerous accolades. The franchise expanded with the release of an animated television series, a stage musical, several video games, and an eventual sequel film.

Beetlejuice (1988)
Beetlejuice is directed by Tim Burton, and written by Michael McDowell, Warren Skaaren, and Larry Wilson. Starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, and Michael Keaton as the titular character, produced by The Geffen Company, and distributed by Warner Bros., the plot revolves around a recently deceased couple; as ghosts, they are not allowed to leave their house. They contact Beetlejuice, an obnoxious and devious "bio-exorcist" from the Netherworld, to scare the home's new inhabitants away.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on a story by Seth Grahame-Smith. Starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Willem Dafoe, the film is set to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 6, 2024.

Beetlejuice (1989–1991)
Due to the film's financial success, a Beetlejuice animated television series was created for ABC. The series ran for four seasons (the final season airing on Fox), from September 9, 1989, to December 6, 1991. Burton served as the show's developer and executive producer.

"Ghost with the Most" (2020)
On October 6, 2020, Beetlejuice guest-starred in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Ghost with the Most", which aired as part of the show's sixth season. In this appearance, he was voiced by Alex Brightman, reprising his role from the Beetlejuice Broadway musical.

Video games

 * Adventures of Beetlejuice: Skeletons in the Closet is a video game released for MS-DOS in 1990.
 * Beetlejuice is a video game developed by Rare and released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991.
 * Beetlejuice: Horrific Hijinx from the Neitherworld! is a video game created by Rare and published by LJN for the Nintendo Game Boy. It is based on the animated series.
 * A Beetlejuice-themed fun pack for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions was released in September 2017. The pack includes a Betelgeuse minifigure and constructable Saturn's Sandworm, and adds a Beetlejuice-themed open-world area and battle arena to the game. In the Beetlejuice-themed open-world area, Betelgeuse is voiced by Christopher Swindle, Adam Maitland is voiced by Jeff Shine, Barbara Maitland and Delia Dietz are voiced by Krizia Bajos, and Harry the Head-Shrunken Hunter is voiced by Tom Kane. Betelgeuse also features prominently in an episode of Teen Titans Go! included as part of the game. In the Teen Titans Go! episode, when the Titans travel to the Lego world, Raven summons Betelgeuse by saying his name three times and gets to go to the Beetlejuice world. Betelgeuse says if Raven wants to win the Lego building competition, she should resort to cheating and use magic, but tricks her into making a giant gargoyle that the Titans have to fight.
 * Beetlejuice is represented in the platform fighter MultiVersus as part of its second season.

Print
Print content associated with the franchise includes a six-issue comic book series published by Harvey Comics in 1991 and 1992, featuring adventures of Beetlejuice and Lydia along the lines of those in the animated series; a Marvel Comics guide containing "stories, comic strips, fact files, and puzzles", and a series of juvenile novels published by Aladdin Paperbacks in 1992.

Stage musical
In 2016, work began on a Broadway stage musical adaptation of the film directed by Alex Timbers, produced by Warner Bros., with music and lyrics by Eddie Perfect and book by Scott Brown and Anthony King. The musical was debuted by readings starring Christopher Fitzgerald, Kris Kukul (musical director), and Connor Gallagher (choreographer). It premiered at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. for a limited run from October 14 to November 18, 2018, with Alex Brightman in the title role.

The production was scheduled to play its final performance at the Winter Garden on June 6, 2020. The producers were unable to find another theater to house the show due to the COVID Broadway shutdown in March 2020. The show reopened at the Marquis Theatre on April 8, 2022, and closed on January 8, 2023, at a financial loss, having been unable to recoup its $21 million investment. Subsequent productions opened across the world, including a North American national tour.