I don't recall anybody cracking open champagne and doing cartwheels when it was announced that plans were underway for a sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 comedy classic, Beetlejuice. Certainly not me, and not just because I think the original doesn't hold up over time, but because no actor is identified more with a single character than Michael Keaton is with Beetlejuice. At the time it wasn't clear what form the story would take, whether it'd be a sequel or a remake. Nor was there much mention of Michael Keaton. All causes for concern. All we knew was who would be writing it, the duo of David Katzenberg and author Seth Grahame-Smith(Pride and Prejudice and Zombies).
In a recent interview with EW, the pair revealed the project would be a "true continuation", taking place 26 years after the last film. What's more, that they don't intend for the film to move forward without Michael Keaton on board. Good news all around...
Grahame-Smith: “When Warner Bros. came to us about it, we said the only way we’d do it if we got Tim [Burton’s] blessing and involvement, and we got that, and the star of the movie has to be Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, and it’s a true continuation 26 years later. Not just throwing him in as a cameo going, ‘Hey, it’s me. I endorse this movie.’ We’re not there yet [with Keaton] because we don’t have a film to present to him.”
With studio movies being how they are now, with endless sequels cranked out with no regard for the source material or the original filmmaker's intent, it's cool that they sought Burton's thumbs up before proceeding. Grahame-Smith and Burton have a solid working relationship already, with Burton producing his Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, so that may have had something to do with it. Grahame-Smith also did some scriptwork on Burton's upcoming Dark Shadows remake.
Sounds like the ball is in Keaton's court right now. The question is whether or not he'd want to revisit an iconic role for more than two decades ago. After falling off the face of the earth for awhile, it's been a pleasure to see him as a regular presence on the big screen again. If you haven't seen him in the paranoia fueled Game 6, make it a priority. He's also found his way into the Pixar family as the voice of Ken in Toy Story 3, and he was last seen as the moonlighting police captain in The Other Guys.
