Two weeks after Winona Ryder was spotted on the Beetlejuice 2 set in England, her costar Michael Keaton has revealed filmmaker Tim Burton is making the sequel with the same irreverent, creative spirit he did with the 1988 original film.
'Beetlejuice is the most f***ing fun you can have working. It's so fun. It's so great. And you know what it is? We're doing it exactly like we did the first movie,' the 71-year-old Oscar nominee told Empire on Saturday.
'There's a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line — I want people to know this because I love it — tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.'
In this version of the afterlife, dead people navigate a complex bureaucracy involving vouchers and caseworkers while those who commit suicide must work forever like the crude and morbid bio-exorcist Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice).
'[Burton] and I were talking about it years and years ago, never telling anybody. I said, "If it happens" — first of all, we've both said we're doing it many times. We both agreed, "If it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time,"' Keaton (born Michael John Douglas) explained.
'Beetlejuice is the most f***ing fun you can have working': Oscar nominee Michael Keaton (pictured) has revealed filmmaker Tim Burton is making Beetlejuice 2 with the same irreverent, creative spirit he did with the 1988 original film
The 71-year-old Pittsburgh native (pictured Saturday) told Empire on Saturday: 'It's so fun. It's so great. And you know what it is? We're doing it exactly like we did the first movie. There's a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line — I want people to know this because I love it — tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move'
'Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something. F***ing great. It's the most fun I've had working on a movie in I can't tell you how long.'
The Pittsburgh native originally won the wacky role in the critically-acclaimed supernatural comedy over personalities like Sammy Davis Jr., Sam Kinison, and Dudley Moore.
Michael's update came after the 51-year-old Oscar nominee was pictured for the first time reprising her role as goth photographer Lydia Deetz on the set in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on May 17.
Italian bombshell Monica Bellucci (Twin Peaks: The Return, The Matrix Reloaded) will portray Betelgeuse's wife in the highly-anticipated sequel.
Wednesday star Jenna Ortega portrays Lydia Deetz's daughter, four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe plays an afterlife detective, and two-time Emmy winner Justin Theroux plays a mystery role.
And while two-time Emmy winner Catherine O'Hara reprises her role as sculpturist Delia Deetz, registered sex offender Jeffrey Jones is not slated to return as real estate developer Charles Deetz following his 2002 arrest for soliciting a 14-year-old boy to pose for nude photos.
It would take a lot of youthful special effects for Oscar winner Geena Davis and Oscar nominee Alec Baldwin to return.
Their friendly ghosts Barbara and Adam Maitland would not have aged a day since their drowning deaths, according to the original film
Last seen with a shrunken head! In this version of the afterlife, dead people navigate a complex bureaucracy involving vouchers and caseworkers while those who commit suicide must work forever like the crude and morbid bio-exorcist Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice)
Michael added: '[Burton] and both agreed, "If it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time." Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something. F***ing great. It's the most fun I've had working on a movie in I can't tell you how long'
Hitting US theaters on September 6, 2024! Oscar nominee Winona Ryder was pictured for the first time reprising her role as goth photographer Lydia Deetz on the set in Hitchin, Hertfordshire on May 17
Fierce after 50! Italian bombshell Monica Bellucci (Twin Peaks: The Return, The Matrix Reloaded) will portray Betelgeuse's wife in the sequel (pictured February 24)
Rounding out the cast: Wednesday star Jenna Ortega (L) portrays Lydia Deetz's daughter, four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (M) plays an afterlife detective, and two-time Emmy winner Justin Theroux (R) plays a mystery role
Who's in, who's out? And while two-time Emmy winner Catherine O'Hara (2-L) reprises her role as sculpturist Delia Deetz, registered sex offender Jeffrey Jones (M) is not slated to return as real estate developer Charles Deetz following his 2002 arrest for soliciting a 14-year-old boy to pose for nude photos
RIP: Sylvia Sidney (pictured) - who played chain-smoking case worker Juno - passed away, age 88, from from esophageal cancer in 1999, and Glenn Shadix - who played interior designer Otho - died, age 57, from blunt trauma in 2010
Classic: The original film impressively amassed $74.7M from a $15M budget with make-up artists Steve La Porte, Ve Neill, and Robert Short scoring an Academy Award for their work
Sylvia Sidney — who played chain-smoking case worker Juno — passed away, age 88, from from esophageal cancer in 1999, and Glenn Shadix — who played interior designer Otho — died, age 57, from blunt trauma from a fall in 2010.
Beetlejuice 2, produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B Productions, is already scheduled to be released in US theaters on September 6, 2024.
The original film impressively amassed $74.7M from a $15M budget with make-up artists Steve La Porte, Ve Neill, and Robert Short scoring an Academy Award for their work.
Beetlejuice spawned an Emmy-winning animated ABC/Fox series (1989-91), four video games, and a Broadway musical which will be staged at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood starting July 11.
