Why Beetlejuice 2 Is Taking So Long To Happen

As mentioned above, Beetlejuice 2 has been trapped in development hell for years, and it has been in the process of moving forward many, many times, but there’s always something that delays the project. In 1990, Burton hired Jonathan Gems to write a sequel, titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, and it would have seen the Deetz family moving to Hawaii, where Charles (Jeffrey Jones) would be developing a resort.

They would soon discover that the company was building the resort on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna, bringing a spirit from the afterlife to cause trouble, and so Beetlejuice would have come to the rescue… by winning a surf contest with magic. Keaton and Ryder were set to reprise their roles on the condition that Burton returned as director, but both Burton and Keaton were busy with Batman Returns.

The following year, Burton approached Heathers’ writer Daniel Waters for a rewrite on Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, but he ended up writing the script for Batman Returns instead. After that, a variety of writers were brought in to rewrite the project, and even Kevin Smith was approached to do so in 1996, but he turned down the offer in favor of Superman Lives (which never happened, too), and later joked that Beetlejuice 2 didn’t need to happen.

In 2011, Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write and produce Beetlejuice 2, sharing that he aimed to do a story worthy of being done and not something “about cashing in” and not “forcing a remake or a reboot”. Back then, the story was supposed to be set in a real time frame, as a “true 26 or 27 years later sequel”, which would be an interesting setting for Beetlejuice as time means nothing in the afterlife, but the outside world has changed a lot.

In 2015, Grahame-Smith revealed the script was finished and Beetlejuice 2 was projected to start filming by the end of the year, with Keaton and Ryder reprising their roles. The following year, Burton said Beetlejuice 2 is a project he “would like to do in the right circumstances” as it’s not the “kind of movie that cries out for a sequel”, and in 2017, Mike Vukadinovich was hired to rewrite the script – but by 2019, Warner Bros.

stated the project had been shelved. Speaking to Collider in 2021, Grahame-Smith said the reason why Beetlejuice 2 can’t get out of development hell is because Beetlejuice is so loved by the audience and “there are 10 million ways to get that sequel wrong and four ways to get it right”, and it’s very hard to come up with a story that works and also makes Burton and Keaton excited to return.

It’s Too Late For Beetlejuice 2

Beetlejuice was released in 1988, a decade where the horror genre was at its peak and thus different types of horror caught the attention of the audience, and a character like Beetlejuice, as over-the-top and obnoxious as he is, couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

As loved as Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz are, over 30 years have passed since their debut, so the characters (especially Lydia) would have to change drastically, and there’s a big risk of them not connecting with the audience anymore, more so as viewers are now used to different types of horror and comedy.

Beetlejuice 2 happening now would also have to justify Lydia and Beetlejuice not working together in so long and bring a believable (within the limits of Beetlejuice, of course) story that can catch the attention of the audience, which as Grahame-Smith said, it’s a lot trickier than it seems, and in this particular case, time was key for Beetlejuice 2 to work.

Beetlejuice 2 Was Never A Good Idea (It Doesn’t Need A Sequel)

Beetlejuice told a complete story and gave its main characters a fitting ending: the Maitlands stayed at their house and agreed to share it with the Deetz, with Lydia often spending quality time with them and enjoying the perks of having friends from the afterlife, while Beetlejuice was trapped in the waiting room of the afterlife.

A sequel, then, is unnecessary, and even if it brings Lydia back, the Maitlands’ absence would be felt – and they are harder to bring back now as they’re not supposed to age. As fun as it would be to see more of Beetlejuice’s adventures, it’s hard to come up with an engaging and entertaining story that does justice to the character and the original movie, which is why Beetlejuice 2 has taken so long.

Another reason why a sequel to Beetlejuice is unnecessary is because the audience has already gotten a sort-of sequel with the animated series, which ran from September 1989 to October 1991.

The Beetlejuice series followed Lydia and Beetlejuice as they explored the Neitherworld and came across a variety of ghosts and monsters, but they also created chaos in the mortal world, with Beetlejuice trying to scam residents of both worlds and playing pranks on Lydia’s parents more often than not.

Beetlejuice doesn’t need a sequel because there aren’t important loose ends that need to be addressed nor mysteries that should be solved, and a sequel risks hurting the impact and legacy of the original movie as it has already proven to be a difficult task.