‘Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian’: the bizzare sequel that never was
We all like to imagine our favourite movies will one day get a sequel. Of course, sometimes those sequels are better left unmade. That’s certainly the case when it comes to Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, which might sound like a strange new topping from a failing pizzeria but is, in fact, the name of a scripted equal to 1988’s Beetlejuice.
Directed by Tim Burton, produced by Geffen Company and distributed by Warner Bros, the original movie tells the story of a deceased couple who begin haunting the family home of Charles, Delia and Lydia Deetz. When they meet a poltergeist called Beetlejuice, who promises to scare away the house’s new inhabitants, things take a turn for the worse.
After the success of Beetlejuice, an animated series was launched for ABC and Fox, which ran from 1989 to 1991. There was even a Beetlejuice video game, which was released in the early ’90s, and a Broadway musical of the same name. It was around this time that the first script for Beetlejuice goes Hawaiian was written by Jonathan Gem. The story focuses on the Deetz’ move to Hawaii, where they plan to build a holiday resort. However, they soon learn that the land they are planning to build on is home to (yes, you guessed it) an ancient Indian burial ground. At this point, Beetlejuice shows up and starts wreaking havoc.
According to Wicked Horror, the film never made it to production because the idea wasn’t picked up by Warner Bros, who had their eyes set on a sequel to their latest blockbuster, Batman, which they wanted Burton to direct. By 1997, Gems had realised the film would probably remain un-made. “You really couldn’t do it now anyway,” he said at the time. “Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it.”
How strange, then, that in 2011, rumours began to circulate of a reworked script by Seth Grahame-Smith. A couple of years later, in 2013, Winona Ryder confirmed the rumours. Talking to The Daily Beast, she said: “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.”
Then, in 2016, Grahame-Smith said that the script was finished. Burton quickly said he’d be interested in working on the sequel, telling Collider: “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 … I do love the character and Michael’s amazing as that character … But there’s nothing concrete yet.”
A year later, Mike Vukadinovich was asked to rewrite the script, implying that Warner Bros genuinely wanted to get the sequel off the ground. Sadly, in 2019, it emerged that the script had been shelved. To be honest, I can’t help but think they made the right call. Some films are meant to remain untarnished. That being said, this year, Bradd Pitt was announced as a producer for the long-awaited Beetlejuice follow-up. Who knows, maybe we will see Beetlejuice’s return in this lifetime.
