When I reported last month that David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith had signed a two year deal with Warner Bros. and were possibly going to work on a sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 classic Beetlejuice, I closed out my article by saying, "let's hope that they can bring back Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Tim Burton. It simply can't be done without them." That appears to be a sentiment shared by Katzenberg and Grahame-Smith, for at least two of the names, anyway.
EW recently had the chance to go behind the scenes of KatzSmith Productions and pick up a few details about the possible Beetlejuice 2, and one of the things that stressed was that a) they desire Burton's approval to move forward with the project and that b) it won't be made unless Keaton is available to play the title role. Starting with Katzenberg saying that they would not be remaking the movie (thank god), Grahame-Smith talked about how the project would operate, as the original was released more than two decades ago. "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."
I'm still against the idea of another Beetlejuice movie (just let great movies be) but I will admit that Michael Keaton signing on would likely make me change my opinion almost instantaneously. It's truly unfair that Keaton doesn't get the same amount of work that he used to get and, outside of Batman, Beetlejuice was his most iconic role. If they can actually get him interested, they would get my interest as well.
