--- description: A direct Beetlejuice sequel would only be possible with the inclusion of Michael Keaton title: Tim Burton Says Beetlejuice Sequel Is 'Closer Than Ever' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbb58244fd1f9767/69877098428a9e4a0acc6456/beetlejuice.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Tim Burton Says _Beetlejuice_ Sequel Is 'Closer Than Ever' by [People / Alex Heigl](/author/people/) ## People / Alex Heigl Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 23, 2014 11:21 AM CUT  Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice, 1988. Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice, 1988.Warner Bros. by [People / Alex Heigl](/author/people/) ## People / Alex Heigl Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 23, 2014 11:21 AM CUT It’d be hard counting how many times someone’s said _Beetlejuice_ since Tim Burton’s film of the same name came out in 1988, but you’d think it would be enough times to warrant a reappearance, wouldn’t you? Looks like [Tim Burton](http://www.people.com/article/lana-del-rey-amy-adams-big-eyes-lyric-video "undefined") agrees. The director [spoke to IGN](http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/12/22/beetlejuice-sequel-is-closer-than-ever "undefined") while promoting the upcoming movie _Big Eyes_ and said a direct _Beetlejuice_ sequel would only be possible with the inclusion of [Michael Keaton](http://www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/stylewatch/package/article/0,,20880962%5F20884606,00.html "undefined"), who starred in the original’s titular role. “There’s only one Beetlejuice, and that’s Michael. There is a script, and I would love to work with him again. I think there is now a better chance than ever,” Burton said. “I miss that character. There’s something that’s cathartic and amazing about it. I think it’s closer than ever.” Chatter about the _Beetlejuice_ sequel has been slowly reaching critical mass: [Keaton said in Feburary](http://www.people.com/article/www.mtv.com/news/2026955/tim-burton-beetlejuice-sequel/ "undefined") he was in if Burton was, and then in October he said the pair [was waiting on a script](http://www.mtv.com/news/1967432/michael-keaton-beetlejuice-2-no-script/ "undefined") – possibly with _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_ writer Seth Grahame-Smith, possibly not. Last year, [Winona Ryder](http://www.people.com/people/winona%5Fryder "undefined") told the [Daily Beast](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/11/18/exclusive-winona-ryder-on-beetlejuice-2-looks-like-it-s-happening-with-burton-keaton-and-ryder.html "undefined") that, while “I’m kind of sworn to secrecy, \[the sequel\] sounds like it might be happening.” Commence your fervent speculation and pre-judgement, but please, for everyone’s sake: Do not mention the cartoon series. [_This article originally appeared on people.com_](http://www.people.com/article/tim-burton-beetlejuice-sequel "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3645280/tim-burton-beetlejuice-sequel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3645280/tim-burton-beetlejuice-sequel/"},"headline":"Tim Burton Says Beetlejuice Sequel Is 'Closer Than Ever'","datePublished":"2014-12-23T11:21:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:05:42.202Z","description":"A direct Beetlejuice sequel would only be possible with the inclusion of Michael Keaton","url":"https://time.com/3645280/tim-burton-beetlejuice-sequel/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbb58244fd1f9767/69877098428a9e4a0acc6456/beetlejuice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"People / Alex Heigl"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcbb58244fd1f9767/69877098428a9e4a0acc6456/beetlejuice.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Beetlejuice Michael Keaton","caption":"Beetlejuice Michael Keaton","creditText":"Warner Bros.","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3645280/tim-burton-beetlejuice-sequel/","name":"Tim Burton Says Beetlejuice Sequel Is 'Closer Than Ever'"}}]}] ```