The ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Isn’t Actually Happening, Says Burton

Rumors about a potential Beetlejuice sequel have been surfacing for years, but a recent report that Beetlejuice 2 is actually ready to film has been debunked. Although Tim Burton and Winona Ryder have both dropped hints about a potential Beetlejuice sequel, the actual status of the project remains a mystery.

In a recent report from Showbiz Spy, an anonymous source purported to be close to Burton stated that a Beetlejuice sequel was imminent. According to the source, Burton told him that a script had already been handed off to Warner Bros., and that both Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton were on board for the sequel.

“The film is a go and has been approved by the Warner Bros. team, we have talked with the cast members we wanted for the film and they are all on board, this includes both Winona and Michael.”

According to MTV News, none of that is true. Beetlejuice 2 is not in development, according to a Burton rep who reached out to MTV News, and Burton did not provide a statement to Showbiz Spy about the supposed sequel.

Although the original report quoted an anonymous source, and not the Beetlejuice director, Showbiz Spy later printed an update that included a statement from a Burton rep.

“Tim Burton did not confirm Beetlejuice 2 as the movie is not in development,” the rep told Showbiz Spy. “Tim’s focus is entirely on Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children set for a September 30, 2016, release and developing Dumbo.”

Despite the refutation of the statement that Beetlejuice 2 is not happening just yet, Showbiz Spy maintains that something is happening with the sequel, suggesting that Warner Bros. did, in fact, hire writers to work on a script in the last year.

According to a report from Deadline, Warner Bros. did hire David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith to work on a Beetlejuice sequel script, but that report is from 2011. KatzSmith Productions was hired at that time on a two-year, first-look production deal that was expected to result in a Beetlejuice sequel that never materialized.

More recent reports have also linked Grahame-Smith with the project. Last year, The Hollywood Reporter said that Grahame-Smith was still working on a Beetlejuice project, and that it would be an actual sequel rather than a reboot.

Beetlejuice 2 may not be ready for filming, but the fact is that both Burton and Ryder have dropped strong hints recently that a sequel will arrive at some point.

As previously reported by Inquisitr, Ryder went on Late Night With Seth Myers last summer and claimed that a Beetlejuice sequel was in the works.

“I think I can confirm it,” Ryder told Seth Myers. “It was very hush-hush top secret … but then he was doing some press for Big Eyes and and he did an on-camera interview and he said, ‘Oh yeah, we’re doing it, and Winona’s going to be in it.’ … If he said it, I can say it.”

According to AV Club, Michael Keaton is also interested in reprising his titular role as the “ghost with the most” in any potential sequel, and that his involvement would only be contingent on Burton’s and his own availability, should Warner Bros. move forward with the project.

This isn’t the first time that a Beetlejuice sequel has been in the works, and Warner Bros. actually commissioned Burton to write Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian shortly after the release of the 1988 original. So while reports that Beetlejuice 2 is actually written and ready for filming may not be true, we may see a sequel eventually anyway.

Are you ready for a Beetlejuice sequel, if it ever actually happens, or are you afraid that it will turn out like so many other reboots and sequels that fail to recapture the magic of the original?

[Photo by AP Photo/Gregory Payan]