Reports and rumors surrounding a Beetlejuice 2 movie have been swirling for years, but never seemed to fully come to fruition. Despite a number of failed attempts, another production company has recently been revealed to be producing a sequel to the iconic 1988 film. So is Beetlejuice 2 coming out this time around?
When will Beetlejuice 2 be released?
In February 2022, The Ankler’s Hollywood Transom newsletter revealed that Plan B Entertainment, the production company owned by Brad Pitt, is set to produce Beetlejuice 2, with both Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder expected to reprise their roles as Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz, respectively. Beetlejuice 2 doesn’t have a release date yet, but the project could reportedly film as early as this summer.
While the news has been received with excitement by fans, Danny Elfman, the composer behind the original Beetlejuice movie, isn’t entirely sold in it just quite yet.
“I have no idea. I hear rumors just like you’ve heard,” Elfman told ComicBook.com when asked what he knows about Beetlejuice 2. “I ran into Michael Keaton somewhere about seven years ago and he goes, ‘So we’re doing Beetlejuice 2,’ And I go, ‘Are we?’ And then I didn’t hear anything about it again. So I’m from the, I’ll believe it when I see it camp, but I know that it’s been talked about for quite a while.”
The composer expressed a similar notion in an interview back in 2019, noting that he’s usually one of the last people to board a project after it has been officially picked up. “A year ago, I saw Michael Keaton, and he mentioned ‘So, we’re doing Beetlejuice 2?’, and I said ‘Well, you’d know more than I do.’ And I’ve heard nothing about it since.”
Elfman added: “Projects will be in development for quite a long time. So I think it is something that has been in development for a few years, but I don’t know where it is in that process. I’m always the last one to hear, believe me. Often, I’ll hear about whatever movie Tim is doing, it is kinda funny because he’ll call me and he’ll say ‘Danny, I’m doing such and such a film, would you like to come on board?’, and I’ll already have read about it in Variety two weeks earlier. So I’m not the first one to hear about things, let me put it that way.”
What is Beetlejuice about?
Directed by Tim Burton, the original Beetlejuice movie revolves around a recently deceased couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who, as ghosts haunting their former home, contact Keaton’s Betelgeuse (pronounced as Beetlejuice), an obnoxious and devious “bio-exorcist” from the Netherworld, to scare away the house’s new inhabitants played by Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Jeffrey Jones.
Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, earning $73 million at the domestic box office from a budget of just $15 million. It won the Academy Award for Best Makeup and three Saturn Awards: Best Horror Film, Best Makeup, and Best Supporting Actress for Sylvia Sidney. The film’s success spawned an animated TV series, video games, and a 2018 stage musical.
Where to watch Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is currently streaming on HBO Max.