Warner Bros. Discovery has officially confirmed that a sequel to Beetlejuice is in development. The entertainment behemoth made this revelation during its CinemaCon 2023 panel where it briefly showed off a reel of logos reminiscent of the film.
Beetlejuice chronicled a deceased young couple who, in an attempt to scare off the new occupants of their house, hire the bio-exorcist named Betelgeuse mispronounced Beetlejuice. The film starred Michael Keaton as the titular character with a cast of other a-listers including Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones, and Geena Davis.
Warner Bros.’s confirmation comes barely a month after reports surfaced that Wednesday and Scream star Jenna Ortega is in talks to star in the sequel. The report, published by Hollywood insider Jeff Sneider, revealed that a return is on the cards for most of the film’s original cast, including Keaton, O’Hara, and Ryder. However, it stayed silent on Baldwin, Jones, and Davis. It also confirmed that Tim Burton, who directed the original film, will return to helm the sequel.
Burton cast doubts on his return last October when he stated that he was not involved with the project. A few days later, he backtracked on his comments and offered up a “We’ll see how it goes,” which renewed hopes of his return. While Warner has now seemingly confirmed the project’s existence, the studio is yet to provide any further detail and, as a result, hasn’t confirmed Ortega’s casting, the original cast’s return, or Burton’s return for that matter.
Released in 1988, Beetlejuice enjoyed massive critical and commercial success. The fantasy horror comedy film received an Academy Award for Best Makeup, among others, and grossed over $74 million at the box office despite having a budget of only $15 million. Its success resulted in an expansion into other media, including a stage musical, several video games, and an animated television series.
Since its release, there have been multiple attempts to produce a sequel but to no avail. The first attempt came two years after its debut when the director, Burton, hired Jonathan Gems to write the screenplay for a sequel. He also secured an agreement from Keaton and Ryder to return for the film. However, the project didn’t materialize because of his and Keaton’s preoccupation with the superhero film Batman Returns.
In the intervening years, Burton and Warner Bros. have made many other attempts to produce a sequel but none ever came close to fruition. The current attempt began last year after Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B Entertainment, announced it is working on a sequel with Warner Bros. Unlike previous attempts, the project has remained in the news cycle with reports showing credible progress, which bodes well for fans of the cult classic.
Beetlejuice 2 will reportedly start filming at the Warner Bros. studio in London in late May or early June.
