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Johnny Depp To Replace Michael Keaton In ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel?

By Jacintha Webster
Published on: 13:32 PST, Apr 4, 2016

Johnny Depp is being tapped to replace original Beetlejuice actor Michael Keaton in the Beetlejuice sequel according to NME.

The cult movie Beetlejuice came out in 1988, and fans have been calling for a sequel ever since. Tim Burton, the director, claimed that there was no other Beetlejuice besides Michael Keaton, but with Keaton’s recent return to fame after Birdman and Spotlight, Keaton is allegedly too busy to commit to the long-awaited sequel, according to Digital Spy.

Burton said in a recent interview for Big Eyes that he would be on board for another Beetlejuice film as long as Michael Keaton was willing to play Beetlejuice again.

“There’s only one Beetlejuice, and that’s Michael. There is a script, and I would love to work with him again. I think there is now a better chance than ever… I miss that character. There’s something that’s cathartic and amazing about it. I think it’s closer than ever,” he said.

Micheal Keaton has also previously expressed his interest in returning to the bizarre and wonderful Beetlejuice character again.

“I always said that’s the one thing I’d like to do again, if I ever did anything again.”

Despite the initial excitement around a sequel to Beetlejuice, both Tim Burton and Michael Keaton have had their plates full. Burton’s focus is currently on Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, but Seth Grahame-Smith, the writer of Beetlejuice 2, said that once the film has been wrapped up, Burton’s focus could return to Beetlejuice.

“I’ve emailed with Michael Keaton. I know he’s excited about the idea. I know Tim is excited about the idea. Where it stands now is Tim’s got to get ready to make [‘Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children’], and then hopefully we are set, deals are done, and we’re waiting in the wings ready to go right after ‘Peregrine’s’ wraps up. The ideal timeline is we’re really getting into it toward the end of this year.”

The ideal timeline is what seems to be the problem. After Tim Burton has finished Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, he will be moving on to Disney’s Dumbo reboot missing Keaton’s “small window” of time where he could play Beetlejuice. This is where Johnny Deep comes onto the scene.

Tim Burton has apparently decided to move on from Michael Keaton and intends to enlist Johnny Depp to fill Michael Keaton’s shoes, according to Bloody Disgusting.

It is no secret that Depp and Burton love to work together with the likes of Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Dark Shadows, and Alice in Wonderland already being completed by the popular pair.

Rumors have also swirled, since 2011, that Winona Ryder would be returning to reprise her role as Lydia Deetz. Depp, Ryder, and Burton have all worked together before in Edward Scissorhands, another cult film.

When Burton was asked whether Winona had a role in the upcoming Beetlejuice 2, the director replaced in the positive.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Despite the excitement surrounding the sequel to Beetlejuice and the return of Michael Keaton,
or the insertion of Johnny Depp, there is still contrasting evidence about a sequel ever being created.

Last month, it was reported that Tim Burton claimed the quotes confirming the return of a Beetlejuice film were false, and that his focus was on Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, due for release in September, and that he will direct a live-action adaptation of the Disney classic, Dumbo, once that is completed. Tim Burton’s representative confirmed that reports of the film going forward are a hoax.

To add to the confusion, Winona Ryder said on Late Night With Seth Meyers that the sequel is happening but it is a secret.

“Um, I think I can confirm it, because Tim Burton did this interview — like, it was very hush hush, top secret,” she said.

It seems that Beetlejuice 2 is in the cards, but when, and whether Michael Keaton or Johnny Depp will take the main role, is still a mystery.

[Photo by Jon Furniss/Getty Images]

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