Production is currently underway in the United Kingdom on the “Beetlejuice” sequel, the long-awaited follow-up to Tim Burton’s iconic 1989 supernatural dark comedy.
Burton is back at the helm, as are cast members such as Michael Keaton as the titular bio-exorcist spook with disgusting manners, along with Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz. Both are joined this time by “Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega as Lydia’s daughter.
Keaton showed up tonight in London for a VIP event screening of both 1989’s “Batman” and the upcoming “The Flash” and participated in a brief chat with host outlet Empire. He revealed that the new film is set not just follow on from the first character-wise, it’s also retaining its filmmaking techniques.
Specifically, the production seems to be sticking to practical sets and in-camera effects wherever possible, to the point that he compares it to being no different than how they made the original 35 years ago:
“Beetlejuice is the most f—– fun you can have working. It’s so fun. It’s so great. And you know what it is? We’re doing it exactly like we did the first movie. There’s a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line – I want people to know this because I love it – tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.”
After spending years in limbo, the project is finally moving forward and Keaton indicates he and Burton are getting away with doing exactly what they want:
“[Burton] and I were talking about it years and years ago, never telling anybody. I said, ‘If it happens, first of all, we’ve both said we’re doing it many times. We both agreed if it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time.
Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something. F—– great. It’s the most fun I’ve had working on a movie in I can’t tell you how long.”
Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are penning the script for the film, which is already scheduled for release on September 6th next year.
