--- title: Michael Keaton: Beetlejuice 2 Should Not Happen description: Keaton thinks the ship has sailed on a sequel to the Tim Burton classic canonical: https://time.com/4428264/winona-ryder-tim-burton-michael-keaton-beetlejuice/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-28T16:45:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:34:52.374Z og:title: Michael Keaton Doesn't Think Beetlejuice 2 Will Happen og:description: Keaton thinks the ship has sailed on a sequel to the Tim Burton classic og:url: https://time.com/4428264/winona-ryder-tim-burton-michael-keaton-beetlejuice/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta38f912e4c2a68cd/698892a83c163907f145d342/beetlejuice-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3161 og:image:height: 1778 og:image:alt: BEETLEJUICE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michael Keaton Doesn't Think Beetlejuice 2 Will Happen twitter:description: Keaton thinks the ship has sailed on a sequel to the Tim Burton classic twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta38f912e4c2a68cd/698892a83c163907f145d342/beetlejuice-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michael Keaton Says a Prayer-Answering _Beetlejuice 2_ Might Not Happen > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 28, 2016 4:45 PM UTC  From left: Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, and Alex Baldwin in Beetlejuice. From left: Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, and Alex Baldwin in Beetlejuice. Warner Bros. Pictures by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Jul 28, 2016 4:45 PM UTC Sorry _Beetlejuice_ fans, but Michael Keaton is not convinced that a sequel to the Tim Burton movie will ever or _should_ ever happen. “It’s possible that ship has sailed,” he [told _Variety_](http://variety.com/2016/film/news/beetlejuice-sequel-has-to-be-done-right-michael-keaton-says-1201824781/). He added that he wasn’t sure they should even attempt a sequel to the 1988 cult classic, said the actor getting ready to star in _Spider-Man: Homecoming_. “The only way to do it is to do it right,” he said. “So much of it was improvised and so much was beautifully handmade by the artist that is Tim Burton. If you can’t get close to that, you leave it alone.” That said, Keaton also admitted that he had no insider information about the actual state of the sequel: “Zero. You always hear things, that this is happening, and people seem to know more about it than I do.” Rumors about a possible sequel have circulated for years, and screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith reportedly [wrote the script ](http://time.com/3663957/the-beetlejuice-sequel-michael-keaton/?iid=sr-link3) specifically so Keaton could reprise his role as the ghost with the most. Just last year, [Winona Ryder said](http://time.com/3992359/winona-ryder-beetlejuice-sequel/?iid=sr-link1) that _Beetlejuice 2_ was happening (albeit that was before her career was re-invigorated thanks to her work in Netflix’s _Stranger Things_.) But then in May, Tim Burton explained that while he had spoken with both Keaton and Ryder about it, there was no sequel in the works. “It’s something that I really would like to do in the right circumstances, but it’s one of those films where it has to be right,” the[ filmmaker said ](http://time.com/4325002/tim-burton-beetlejuice-2-rumors/?iid=sr-link2)during a press junket for _Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children_. “It’s not a kind of a movie that cries out \[for a sequel\], it’s not the _Beetlejuice_ trilogy. So it’s something that if the elements are right–because I do love the character and Michael \[Keaton\] is amazing as that character, so yeah we’ll see. But there’s nothing concrete yet.” According to Keaton, there may never be anything concrete. Of course, _Beetlejuice_ is a ghost story, so the sequel could have a second life after being declared dead. \[H/T [Cinemablend](http://www.cinemablend.com/news/1539390/why-beetlejuice-2-probably-wont-happen-according-to-michael-keaton)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4428264/winona-ryder-tim-burton-michael-keaton-beetlejuice/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4428264/winona-ryder-tim-burton-michael-keaton-beetlejuice/"},"headline":"Michael Keaton Says a Prayer-Answering Beetlejuice 2 Might Not Happen","datePublished":"2016-07-28T16:45:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:34:52.374Z","description":"Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! 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