Tim Burton Went 'Back to the Basics' for 'Beetlejuice 2' and Rediscovered 'Why I Liked Making Movies'

Michael Keaton previously said that making “Beetlejuice 2” with Tim Burton was “the most fun I’ve had working on a movie in I can’t tell you how long.”

Tim Burton enjoys creating time Beetle juice 2.

Speaking to The Independent, Burton, 65, said the experiences of making big studio films often left him exhausted, but returning to the undead world of Michael Keaton’s character Beetlejuice was a change of pace.

“That’s why it’s hard for me to watch movies afterwards, because I still feel the emotion regardless. I’m not getting rid of it,” Burton said of his past experiences with major studio films.

“But I enjoy all the people I’ve worked with. On this last one, Beetle juice 2, I really enjoyed it,” he added. “I tried to strip it all down and get back to the basics of working with good people and actors and puppets. It was like going back to why I loved making movies.”

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Michael Keaton (center) in the movie ‘Beetlejuice’.

Warner Brothers /courtesy Everett

Burton told the outlet that the upcoming sequel, which is expected to hit theaters in September 2024, is “99 percent complete.” Filming took place earlier this year outside of London and in Vermont before the Screen Actors Guild went on strike in July, shutting down production on major Hollywood films.

“I feel grateful that we got what we got. Literally, it took a day and a half,” Burton said of completing the project. “We know what we have to do.”

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The bug juice The sequel will see Keaton, 72, reprise his title role, while Winona Ryder also returns to the film as Lydia Deetz. Monica Bellucci, who is dating Burton, will also appear in the film alongside Justin Theroux, Willem Dafoe and Wednesdayis Jenna Ortega. Catherine O’Hara is also expected to reprise her role from the original 1988 film.

Although details of the film’s plot remain unclear, Keaton said Empire in June, he was excited to reprise one of his iconic roles from the ’80s.

“Beetlejuice is the most—in’ fun you can have doing. It’s so fun, it’s so great. And you know what? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie,” he said at the time.

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Michael Keaton in ‘Beetlejuice’.

Warner Brothers /courtesy of the Everett Collection

“[Burton] and I talked about it years ago, I never told anyone. We’ve both said we’re doing this many times,” Keaton added of the film’s decades-long journey from concept to production.

“We both agreed, if it happens, it has to be as close as possible to the way we did it the first time,” he added. “Inventing things, creating things, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade things like people creating things with their hands and building something.”

Keaton said, “The most fun I’ve had is working on a movie I can’t say for how long.”

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Source: HIS Education