Every 'Beetlejuice' Sequel Attempt Digs Deeper Into Development Hell

BeetlejuiceBeetlejuice earned commercial and critical success upon its March 1988 release. Geffen Company executives wanted to profit from Tim Burton's instant classic popularity.

The company commissionedtwo potentialBeetlejuicesequel screenplaysone written byMars Attacks! Jonathan Gems wrote the screenwriter, and Warren Skaaren wrote the other.Warren Skaaren was the script doctor for the original film.Skaaren chose to introduce Beetlejuice to athe new couplereplaced him hanging out with the Deetzes in a sequel.

Skaaren's script shows Beetlejuice meeting Leo. Leo tragically falls to his death while proposing to his girlfriend, Julia, on the Eiffel Tower. After Leo enters the afterlife, Beetlejuice escapes to the living world, where he chases Julia.

The script is available in full at theHarry Ransom CenterUniversity of Texas at Austin.

By July 1990, Warren Skaaren hadfinished a draftfinishedBeetlejuice in Love.A week after submitting his draft, Skaaren saw a doctor due to back pain. The writer had a cancer scare in 1987, and it returned.

A malignant mole that started three years earlier grew intobone cancer.Skaaren repeatedly postponed meetings forBeetlejuice in Love while he sought both standard and alternative treatments for his condition.

Sadly, the writer died December 28, 1990, months after finishing his first draft. After his death, work on the script stopped.

In 1990, screenwriter Jonathan Gems gave his opinion on a proposedBeetlejuice sequel, titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.According toWicked Horror, the film planned for the Deetzes to appear during their next remodeling project in Hawaii.

This sequel version has the Deetzes planning a resort, but they do not know they are building on an ancient burial ground. Unsure how to handle the upset ghosts and ghouls they disturbed, the family asks Beetlejuice to save them.

Burton liked the idea. He wanted to pair his gothic expressionist stories with the energy of a Hawaiian paradise. Gems told Fangoria in 1997, "Tim thought it would be funny to match the surfing backdrop of a beach movie with some sort of German Expressionism, because they’re totally wrong together."Fangoriain 1997.

As writer Jonathan Gems tried to advanceBeetlejuice Goes Hawaiian with Warner Bros., the production company focused its efforts elsewhere.

Warner Bros. wanted to develop the next film in their Batman series, which Burton directed. They offered the director "full artistic control" on the picture. Gems said the offer was justtoo goodfor Burton to reject.

Development onHawaiian stoppedas Burton began work onBatman Returns.

The script forBeetlejuice Goes Hawaiianchanged hands many times while Tim Burton and Michael Keaton worked onBatman Returns.

In 1991, BurtonDaniel Waters commissioned the work.The screenwriter behind Heathers made tweaks to the script.Heathers.He made tweaks to the script.Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.Burton brought Waters onto the script. Gems considered the sequel good, saying, "You really couldn’t do it now anyway. Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it."Batman Forever.The script was authorless again. Billy Frolick, an entertainment writer and aspiring director, got a pass at the script.He was offered a pass at the script.This happened in 1997.

By then, Gems thought the sequel was ready. They said, "You really couldn’t do it now anyway. Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it."

Kevin Smith, the '90s indie auteur behind classics like Clerks and Chasing Amy, was also offered a chance to revamp the Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script.Clerks.and Chasing Amy.Chasing Amy.Kevin Smith was also offered a chance to revamp the Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script.Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.There was another script with Warner Bros. Smith wanted to work on: Superman Lives.Superman lives.

Smith turned down the opportunity to work on Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.Smith declined to write the infamous, never-filmed Superman movie, which would have featured Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel.Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel.The project would have seen Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel.

In his 2002 special An Evening With Kevin Smith, he joked he didn't want to work on the Beetlejuice sequel.An Evening With Kevin Smith.The director joked he didn't want to work on the Beetlejuice sequel.Beetlejuice.He quipped, "Didn't we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice?"Beetlejuice.He quipped, "Must we go tropical?"

Seth Grahame-Smith first gained attention with his Pride and Prejudice reimagining.Pride and Prejudice.reimagining.Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.His 2009 book quickly caught genre fans' attention.Grahame-Smith was offered many writing projects, including taking a crack at a Beetlejuice sequel.Grahame-Smith was offered a slew of writing projects, including taking a whack at a Beetlejuice sequel.taking a whack at a Beetlejuice sequel.Grahame-Smith was offered a slew of writing projects, including taking a whack at a Beetlejuice sequel.

Grahame-Smith felt confident in his new take on the classic characters, which he teased would take place in the present.take place in the present.The writer did not expand plot details. He assured fans he would not "overuse" Beetlejuice; the ghost with the most does not show up until halfway through the first film. The character only appears in 17 minutes of the 93-minute film.17 minutes.of the 93-minute film.

After the announcement buzz died down, talk of a sequel stopped.

Even though he was tapped in 2011 to write the sequel, Grahame-Smith hinted at starting the project in 2017.

Speaking with Shock Till You Drop, Grahame-Smith said Michael Keaton was excited for the project to start.

He met Michael Keaton last week. They talked for hours about big picture stuff. It is a priority for Warner Bros. It is a priority for Tim. Right now, I am writing an animated movie for Tim based on my idea. Then I adapt Unholy Night [based on the upcoming book]. The third I am hoping is Beetlejuice in terms of writing schedule.Unholy Night.[based on the upcoming book].Beetlejuice.Michael Keaton shared his ideas for a sequel with Grahame-Smith in terms of writing schedule.

In 2015, Winona Ryder got Beetlejuice fans excited when she said she was ready to reprise her role as Lydia Deetz.Beetlejuice.Winona Ryder told fans she was ready to reprise her role as Lydia Deetz.

The actor appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers.Late Night With Seth Meyers.When the host asked about a possible sequel, she said she thought she could confirm the project had been greenlit.

It was very hush-hush top secret. Then Tim Burton did some press for Big Eyes.Big EyesHe did an on-camera interview and said, "Oh yeah, we’re doing it, and Winona’s going to be in it...." I can say it.

Ryder did not explain the sequel's plot, but fans hoped the film would finally appear.

Tim Burton does not want to make a sequel just to make one.Burton insisted the script needed perfection for production to move forward.The project aimed for a sequel in 2016.Collider.Collider contacted Burton to ask if he still wanted the project.

The director repeated his thoughts from two years earlier, stating everything must be correct to move forward with a sequel.

I would like to do this under the right conditions, but this film requires perfection. It is not a movie that demands a sequel; it is not theBeetlejuice.The trilogy needs the right elements. I like the character and Michael's performance as that character, so we will see. But there is nothing solid yet.

In 2017, Warner Bros. gave the scriptwriting job to writer Mike Vukadinovich, with former writer Seth Grahame-Smithset to produce.Vukadinovich sold several scripts before getting the sequel offer, but only one materialized.only one came to fruition..

Unfortunately, his fate was the same.Beetlejuice.sequel..Tim Burton and Michael Keaton never officially joined the project, and it went back on the shelf.

In April 2019, USA Today.reported that Warner Bros. canceled their long-term effort for aBeetlejuice.The publication asked Tim Burton, who promoted his live-action Dumbo.with Michael Keaton at the time, about the sequel's status. He answered, "Nothing, nothing... I don't know. I doubt it."

Warner Bros. spokesperson Candice McDonough toldUSA Today.that "the project isn’t in active development."

Larry Wilson, an original writer of the first film, told the publication Burton would not make a sequel just to do so:

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton will not consider aBeetlejuice.sequel unless it captures the energy of the first film. That is not simple.Beetlejuice.was a hit. But discussions happened after it shocked everyone in 1988. RegardingBeetlejuice Goes Hawaiian., wiser people won. Thank God there is integrity here.

After all that, it wasfinally announced in 2023.that Beetlejuice 2.is in production with returning cast members like Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara, plus somenew actors too.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice was released on September 6, 2024. The cast included Jenna Ortega as Lydia's daughter and Monica Bellucci as Betelgeuse's ex-wife. Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe also acted.