Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to director Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice (watch it HERE), is set to reach theatres on September 6th – and with that release date swiftly approaching, Empire magazine has unveiled a new image of Michael Keaton as the title character! They also shared quotes from Keaton about getting back into character after all these years, and from his co-stars, who were in awe of him on set. Keep scrolling down to read some of the quotes and see the new image.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was in development hell for decades before it finally got made. In 1990, Jonathan Gems was hired to write a sequel that was going to be titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. Burton considered having Daniel Waters rewrite that script, Pamela Norris did rewrite it, and Warner Bros. offered Kevin Smith the chance to do another rewrite. He turned it down. Seth Grahame-Smith was hired to write and produce a new version of a sequel in 2011. Mike Vukadinovich was brought on to rewrite his script in 2017.

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, co-creators and co-showrunners of Wednesday, have written the screenplay for Beetlejuice 2 that was actually filmed. Brad Pitt’s Plan B is producing the sequel, which filmed in London before moving to Vermont and Massachusetts.

Here’s the official synopsis: Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Keaton told Empire that, to get back into character as “the ghost with the most,” he had to ignore all of the Beetlejuice merchandising that has come out over the years (which he described as “f*cking weird”) and “go, ‘What was my unusual imagination even thinking about when I was developing it in the first place?’ As opposed to seeing a coffee mug or a golf-club cover [adorned with Beetlejuice’s face].’ … To be honest with you – I’m being very frank – [the merchandising] was off-putting, to look and go, ‘I don’t want to look like all these little things, f*ck that – what was the thing that started this?’“

Keaton is joined in the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cast by Winona Ryder, reprising the role of Lydia Deetz; Catherine O’Hara, back as Lydia’s stepmother Delia; Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter Astrid, Justin Theroux as a fellow named Rory,  Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice’s wife and Willem Dafoe as a law enforcement officer in the afterlife. Arthur Conti is also in there, in an unspecified role. 

O’Hara said it was “insane” to see Keaton slip back into the role of Beetlejuice, while Burton said it was like he was “possessed by a demon.” As Ortega described it, “It was like an animal with a gun had just walked into the room. To watch him physically change and appear and Michael Keaton to be gone, and for me to be dealing with this Beetlejuice guy… it blew my mind.”

As for the film itself, Keaton said, “I love it. I absolutely love this thing. And I don’t [usually] talk like that. I unabashedly love this. It was not easy to pull off, and I think we did it in spades.” To read more, click over to the Empire link.

Are you looking forward to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? Take a look at this new image, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

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