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Michael Keaton reveals he was “nervous” about ‘Beetlejuice’ sequel

Wed 10 April 2024 11:08, UK

Cinema legend Michael Keaton has shared further thoughts on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the hotly-anticipated sequel to Tim Burton’s cult 1988 horror comedy, revealing his hesitation to return to the iconic role.

The upcoming film is scheduled to premiere on September 6th and serves as a direct sequel to its acclaimed predecessor. Notably, in the original, Keaton starred as the eponymous Betelgeuse, the impish bio-exorcist who arrives at the home of the deceased couple, the Maitland’s, to scare the Deetz family away. Burton’s movie also starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, and a teenage Winona Ryder, in one of her breakthrough roles.

In the sequel, Keaton is set to reprise his role as the titular spirit. He is not the only star from the original returning either, with O’Hara and Ryder also returning as two-thirds of the Deetz family. This time around, Jenna Ortega will play Astrid Deetz, the daughter of Ryder’s Lydia Deetz. This follows on from her lauded performance as Wednesday Addams in Netflix’s hit show Wednesday, a series that saw Burton serve as an executive producer.

The rest of the cast includes Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Burn Gorman and Justin Theroux. Revered actor Willem Dafoe is also attached to the project, as Wolf Jackson, a former B-movie star turned ghost detective.

In a new interview, Keaton has reflected on the imminent movie, revealing that he is over the moon with how it has turned out. This relief comes despite being immensely uneasy about whether they would be able to pull off a sequel so many years later. This follows him saying the project was “enormous fun” to work on in February.

“It’s really fucking good,” Keaton told an audience at CinemaCon, per Variety. “I was very nervous to see if we could pull this off again,” he continued. “But every day just got better.”

Keaton’s latest account of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, comes only two weeks after the first trailer for the movie arrived at the end of March. It materialised a year after Ryder was spotted in Hertfordshire as filming was underway at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden. The brief teaser clip was shared on the project’s official Instagram account. “The Juice is loose!” the short caption reads.

The screenplay of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was developed by Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar from a story written by Seth Grahame-Smith. The latter had previously worked with Burton on Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

While the plot has largely been kept under wraps, Warners Bros’ official synopsis does offer some details: “Still haunted by Beetlejuice, 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.”

The synopsis continues: “It’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times, and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.”

Watch the official trailer for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice below.