BEETLEJUICE 2: A Sequel to a Late 1980’s Tim Burton Classic is Officially Revealed by Warner Bros.

Beetlejuice 2 is Announced by Warner Bros.

Beetlejuice 2 was once said to be in the works but now the project has been revealed to be officially happening at Warner Bros.

It’s a bittersweet day for fans of 1988’s Beetlejuice. First the bitter news. It was reported today that the great actor/music legend, Harry Belafonte, has passed away. A couple of Belafonte’s memorable songs were prominently featured in the movie Beetlejuice. Who can forget the lyrics, “Shake, Shake Senora” or “Day-O?” Now, the sweet news. The follow-up to that 1988 comedy movie is going to finally happen. At CinemaCon, the official word regarding the sequel was revealed to the world.

Michael Keaton should be reprising his role at Beetlejuice in the upcoming film but nothing is guaranteed as of yet. Given that Keaton is playing Batman in the upcoming Warner Bros. movie, The Flash, it would seem more than likely that Keaton would welcome back the role of Beetlejuice with open arms.

But, the big news surrounding the casting of Beetlejuice 2 is the rumor that “Wednesday” star Jenna Ortega will be entering the franchise. She would be playing Winona Ryder’s character from the first film’s daughter if that rumor comes into fruition as truth. That is a simply inspired casting choice and certainly an appropriate role for the popular Ortega who graced the silver screen recently in the very successful horror film, Scream VI.

Harry Belafonte was a fine musical artist whose music added so much pizzazz to the first Beetlejuice movie. Remember that dining room table scene where everybody danced around the table? That was Belafonte’s song that was playing. He also created the song that had the fun lyrics, “Jump in the Line, Shake Your Body in Time.” Belafonte was more than a great entertainer. He was also a civil rights activist who acted in the controversial movie from 1995 White Man’s Burden later in his prolific career. He was 96-years old at the time of his death.

It would also be nice to see former kleptomaniac Winona Ryder make an appearance in Beetlejuice 2 as well. We’ll have to wait for the casting to be finalized to know, exactly, what to expect but Tim Burton is most likely attached to the project which means audiences will be in for a treat when the movie is finally unveiled in theaters.

The original Beetlejuice was a modest theatrical success although when adjusted for inflation, its total box-office gross back then was really impressive. It will take a much bigger box-office gross than that film’s initial $74 million to make this upcoming film sequel worthy of happening. So many people have discovered the movie over the years (thanks in large part to a Broadway show inspired by the film) that it’s unlikely that Beetlejuice 2 would gross anything less than $175 million domestically when it finally does come out.

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