Tim Burton's BEETLEJUICE Sequel Has Been Scrapped

Sad news came from the premiere of Dumbo, where the director Tim Burton was asked by USA Today about what was going on with the Beetlejuice sequel that we have heard things about off and on for the last few years. Burton replied, “Nothing, nothing.” And when they asked his opinion on whether anything would ever happen with it, he replied, “I don’t know. I doubt it.” USA Today reached out to Candice McDonough at Warner Bros., who noted that, "The project isn’t in active development."

One of the original screenwriters had been previously quoted while talking about a possibility of a sequel, saying:

"The bottom line is, Tim Burton and Michael Keaton are not going to think about a Beetlejuice sequel unless it somehow catches the energy of the first film. And that’s not easy," one of the original screenwriters Larry Wilson noted. "Beetlejuice really was lightning in a bottle. But there have been discussions since it really shocked everyone in 1988. And in terms of [planned sequel] Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, wiser heads prevailed. Thank God there’s a level of integrity here."

So, that’s a bummer. But we’d much rather have an excellent sequel or no sequel at all over some crappy thrown-together mess that soiled the track record of Tim Burton or Michael Keaton. Beetlejuice was a special movie, and while I hope to see a sequel someday, I respect them waiting for just the right time and script and ideas to get the project up and going.