Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is an upcoming American fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by the writing team of Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on a story by Gough, Millar, and Seth Grahame-Smith. A sequel to Beetlejuice (1988) and the second film of the Beetlejuice franchise, it stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara reprising their roles alongside new cast members Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will open the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 28, 2024. It is scheduled to be theatrically released overseas on September 4, 2024 and in the United States two days later on September 6, 2024, by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Premise
Thirty-six years after the events of Beetlejuice, the Deetz family returns home to Winter River after Charles Deetz's unexpected death. 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, releasing Betelgeuse.

Cast

 * Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse (pronounced "Beetlejuice")
 * Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz
 * Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz
 * Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz, Rory and Lydia's teen daughter
 * Justin Theroux as Rory, Astrid's father and Lydia's husband
 * Monica Bellucci as Delores, Betelgeuse's ex-wife who, in life, was a mysterious woman with unfinished business with Betelgeuse
 * Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson, a ghost detective who, in life, was a B movie action star
 * Burn Gorman as a reverend in Winter River

Additionally, Danny DeVito, Arthur Conti and Filipe Cates have been cast in undisclosed roles.

Development
After the success of Beetlejuice (1988), a sequel was fast-tracked by The Geffen Film Company. Two Beetlejuice sequel scripts were commissioned in 1990. The first, Beetlejuice in Love, was penned by screenwriter Warren Skaaren, who did a heavy re-write on the first film's script. In Skaaren's sequel, Betelgeuse meets Leo who tragically plummets to his death while proposing to his girlfriend, Julia, on the Eiffel Tower. When Leo enters the afterlife, Betelgeuse escapes to the world of the living and pursues Julia. Skaaren died shortly after turning in his first draft of the In Love script. That same year, Tim Burton hired Jonathan Gems to write a potential Beetlejuice sequel titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. "Tim thought it would be funny to match the surfing backdrop of a beach movie with some sort of German Expressionism, because they're totally wrong together", Gems said. The story followed the Deetz family moving to Hawaii, where Charles is developing a resort. They soon discover that his company is building on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. The spirit comes back from the afterlife to cause trouble, and Betelgeuse becomes a hero by winning a surf contest with magic. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder agreed to do the film, on the condition that Burton directed, but both he and Keaton became occupied with Batman Returns (1992).

Burton was still interested in Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian in early 1991. Impressed with Daniel Waters' work on Heathers (1989), which also stars Winona Ryder, Burton approached him for a rewrite. However, he eventually signed Waters to write the script for Batman Returns. By August 1993, producer David Geffen hired Pamela Norris (Troop Beverly Hills, Saturday Night Live) to rewrite. Warner Bros. approached Kevin Smith in 1996 to rewrite the script, though Smith turned down the offer in favor of Superman Lives. Smith later joked that his response was "Didn't we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?" In March 1997, Gems released a statement saying "The Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script is still owned by The Geffen Company and it will likely never get made. You really couldn't do it now anyway. Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it." Burton had considered several other sequel ideas as well over the years, saying in 2024, "We talked about lots of different things. That was early on when we were going, Beetlejuice and the Haunted Mansion, Beetlejuice Goes West, whatever. Lots of things came up."

In September 2011, Warner Bros. hired Seth Grahame-Smith, who collaborated with Burton on Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (both 2012), to write and produce a sequel to Beetlejuice. Grahame-Smith signed on with the intention of doing "a story that is worthy of us actually doing this for real, something that is not just about cashing in, is not just about forcing a remake or a reboot down someone's throat." He was also adamant that Keaton would return and that Warner Bros. would not recast the role. Burton and Keaton had not officially signed on but would return if the script was good enough. Grahame-Smith met with Keaton in February 2012, "We talked for a couple of hours and talked about big picture stuff. It's a priority for Warner Bros. It's a priority for Tim. [Michael's] been wanting to do it for 20 years and he'll talk to anybody about it who will listen."

In November 2013, Ryder hinted at a possible return for the sequel as well by saying, "I'm kind of sworn to secrecy but it sounds like it might be happening. It's 27 years later. And I have to say, I love Lydia Deetz so much. She was such a huge part of me. I would be really interested in what she is doing 27 years later." Ryder confirmed that she would only consider making a sequel if Burton and Keaton were involved. In December 2014, Burton stated, "It's a character that I love and I miss actually working with Michael. There's only one Betelgeuse. We're working on a script and I think it's probably closer than ever and I'd love to work with him again." In January 2015, writer Grahame-Smith told Entertainment Weekly that the script was finished and that he and Burton intended to start filming Beetlejuice 2 by the end of the year, and that both Keaton and Ryder would return in their respective roles. In August 2015, on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Ryder confirmed she would be reprising her role in the sequel. In May 2016, Burton stated, "It's something that I really would like to do in the right circumstances, but it's one of those films where it has to be right. It's not a kind of a movie that cries out [for a sequel], it's not the Beetlejuice trilogy. So it's something that if the elements are right—because I do love the character and Michael's amazing as that character, so yeah we'll see. But there's nothing concrete yet." In October 2017, Mike Vukadinovich was hired to re-write the script. In April 2019, Warner Bros. stated the sequel had been shelved.

Pre-production
In February 2022, a sequel was announced again, this time produced by Brad Pitt's studio Plan B Entertainment, alongside Warner Bros. Burton stated in October 2022 that he was not involved in the project, but backtracked days later, saying "nothing is out of the question". Burton ultimately returned as the film's director and tried to strip everything from the story to go to the basics of working with "good people, actors and puppets", feeling that the project made him reflect why he liked making movies. Burton and Keaton agreed to not use excessive amounts of technology, and sought to make the film feel "handmade".

In March 2023, it was reported by Variety that Jenna Ortega, who previously worked with Burton on the 2022 Netflix series Wednesday, was in talks to play Astrid Deetz, Lydia's daughter, while Burton was now expected to direct the film. In May, Danny Elfman announced he was returning to compose the score for the sequel, while it was also revealed Ortega was confirmed to star, and Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar wrote the script. Justin Theroux, Burn Gorman, Arthur Conti, Filipe Cates, and Willem Dafoe would also be added to the cast, in undisclosed roles, with Dafoe's being described as an afterlife officer. Dafoe later explained to Variety at the Marrakesh Film Festival that his character is an afterlife police officer who used to be a B movie action star in life before dying in an accident, with his skills leading him to become a detective within the realm. He later regretted sharing those details about his character, fearing that Burton may get angry with him for revealing a few spoilers from the film. Catherine O'Hara reprises her role as Delia Deetz, as well as Monica Bellucci joining the cast as Betelgeuse's wife.

Colleen Atwood, a frequent collaborator of Burton, was announced to be working on the costume design for the film. Atwood disclosed that Betelgeuse's striped suit would return in the film, as it is trademark to the character's quintessential appearance in the same way the titular character of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) sports an iconic blue dress, though Keaton disagreed and preferred Betelgeuse's burgundy tuxedo. O'Hara later confirmed that the film would include Harry Belafonte's 1955 song "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)", which was featured in the first film.

Filming
Filming was originally scheduled to begin in mid-2022. Later, it was delayed to an expected start date of May 10, 2023, taking place in London if the 2023 WGA strike did not lead to another delay in production. Production was officially confirmed to have begun the following day, with Haris Zambarloukos serving as cinematographer and Jay Prychidny serving as editor. On May 18, 2023, it was reported that filming was taking place around the Princess Helena College in Preston, Hertfordshire, England. Exterior filming took place in East Corinth, Vermont (the location of the original movie's outdoor scenes), in mid-2023. Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Burton described the film, which he enjoyed making, as being "99% done". It had two days of production left, which was interrupted, with Ortega being contacted to continue filming four days after the strike had ended. Filming resumed on November 16, 2023, in Melrose, Massachusetts, and wrapped in Vermont on November 30, 2023.

Post-production
By March 2024, Keaton had seen a completed rough cut of the film and stated that further editing would occur thereafter. Later that month, it was stated in The Hollywood Reporter that Jeffrey Jones would not reprise his role as Charles Deetz in the film. In April, Geena Davis stated she would not be returning as Barbara Maitland due to her age, saying: "Our characters were stuck the way they looked when they died forever, so it's been a while, it's been a minute."

Production VFX supervisor is Angus Bickerton, working with VFX producer Alex Bicknell, supported by visual effects studios Framestore, One of Us and BUF.

Release
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will open the 81st Venice International Film Festival on August 28, 2024 at the Sala Grande in a non-competitive slot. The film is scheduled to be theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on September 6, 2024, including IMAX engagements. In February 2024, the title of the film was revealed along with its release date reiterated. At their 2024 CineEurope presentation, Warner Bros. announced that the film would be released overseas on September 4, 2024, two days before its domestic premiere.