Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Michael Keaton Teases Sequel Will Shed Insight on His Ghost’s Backstory

The storytelling by filmmaker Tim Burton was so strong in the original Beetlejuice that no one really questioned what the backstory of the titular character was, but star Michael Keaton recently hinted that the upcoming sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice would give insight into the Ghost with the Most’s background, yet also promised wary audiences that it would be a good thing. Given the trend among studios in recent years to give any iconic character or franchise an origin story, this could cause some concern among devout Beetlejuice fans, but with Keaton himself expressing that he had initial doubts, it would seem likely that the background will be minimal and only relate to how it motivates the upcoming sequel. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to hit theaters on September 6th.

“The great thing about playing Beetlejuice is, that clichéd thing, you never make the statement, ‘Well, my character wouldn’t do that.’ He’d do anything, which was so tremendous to play,” Keaton recently shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “However, in the second one, which I’m telling you is so good, Tim lays this idea on me. Admittedly, I kind of went, ‘Oh, okay. I don’t know, good luck with that.’ So there is a kind of backstory, which is kind of a surprise for everyone.”

Much like how the trend among studios is to dive into the backstories of beloved characters, another trend is the embrace of utilizing CGI to pull off visual effects, with Keaton having previously explained that the sequel serves as a throwback to the practical effects of the debut movie.

“The one thing that he and I decided on early, early, early on from the beginning, if we ever did it again, I was totally not interested in doing something where there was too much technology,” Keaton shared with PEOPLE earlier this year. “It had to feel handmade. What made it fun was watching somebody in the corner actually holding something up for you, to watch everybody in the shrunken head room and say, ‘Those are people under there, operating these things, trying to get it right.’”  

With how long it has taken to develop a new entry in the series, both Keaton and Burton likely only wanted to pursue such a project if it was a story worth telling, with their involvement, as well as the returns of Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder, building confidence among fans about the experience.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hits theaters on September 6th.

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