Michael Keaton Says Filming ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Was ‘the Most Exciting Thing’
Michael Keaton recently wrapped production on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 supernatural comedy. In a new interview with People, the actor called the experience “the most fun I’ve had on set in a long time.”
“On one hand, you’d go, ‘Well, of course it’s the most fun. It looks like fun,'” Keaton said. “As you know, it doesn’t always work like that.”
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The actor explained that he and Burton have considered the possibility of a sequel for years. “We thought, ‘You got to get this right. Otherwise, just don’t do it. Let’s just go on with our lives and do other things,'” Keaton said. “So I was hesitant and cautious, and he was probably equally as hesitant and cautious over all these years. Once we got there, I said, ‘Okay, let’s just go for it. Let’s just see if we can do it, if we can pull this off.'”
One of the main creative decisions, according to Keaton, was not to rely on CGI to create the fantastical world and creatures.
“The one thing that he and I decided on early, early, early on from the beginning, if we ever did it again, I was totally not interested in doing something where there was too much technology,” the actor said. “It had to feel handmade.”
He added, “What made it fun was watching somebody in the corner actually holding something up for you, to watch everybody in the shrunken head room and say, ‘Those are people under there, operating these things, trying to get it right.’ It’s the most exciting thing. When you get to do that again after years of standing in front of a giant screen, pretending somebody’s across the way from you, this is just enormous fun.”
The film, set for release Sept. 6, 2024, also stars returning actors Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder, and new additions Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, and Jenna Ortega. The production was delayed by the SAG strike last year and filming was eventually wrapped in November.
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