Although I’m still trying to determine my feelings on Tim Burton‘s upcoming film Dark Shadows, he’s definitely making his comedic comeback one way or the other. Many have related it to his 1988 classic Beetlejuice, which is only fitting because screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith has new developments on the forthcoming sequel, which was announced back in October. [Collider]
After penning the wildly successful Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies novels, as well as the Hunter screenplay, Grahame-Smith recently joined with Burton on the Dark Shadows script and will also be penning the Beeltejuice sequel. He’s revealed the film will take place either 26 or 27 years after the original.
For fans of the original, don’t fret: Grahame-Smith has also confirmed that not only has he met with Burton — who has signed on to produce the sequel — but he’s also met with Beetlejuice himself, Michael Keaton. Here’s a part of his interview at WonderCon:
“Beetlejuice is hopefully the third thing I’m gonna write this year. I’ve met with Tim about it, I’ve met with Michael Keaton about it. There’s a lot of goodwill to want to do it from both of those guys; Tim from a producing aspect and Michael from returning to the character. Again, it’s on me. It’s whether or not I can come up with a script that’s worthy of them jumping back in.”
I know that Burton has some other projects in the works aside from Dark Shadows, but with the script only in its beginning stages he’s only signed on as producer. However, that could always change in the near future. Grahame-Smith has provided some insight on where the sequel will take place, stating that he has a “rough idea” and stresses the fact that this film is in no way a remake, reboot, but a “true sequel.” Here’s a little more from his interview:
“The thing that Tim and Michael and I all agree on, and is most important to me is, I don’t wanna be that guy that destroys the legacy and the memory of the first film; I would rather die. I would rather just not make it, I’d rather just throw the whole thing away than make something that pays no respect and doesn’t live up even close to the legacy of the first film.”
I can’t deny that I’m a fan of the original, so it’s nice to see Grahame-Smith putting so much work into the sequel. In Hollywood and recent years, we’ve seen too many sequels/reboots/knock-offs just destroy the integrity of their originals — I won’t even get started on the upcoming Evil Dead remake. As for the time-lapse between the original and sequel, Grahame-Smith stated, “What’s great is that for Beetlejuice, time means nothing in the afterlife, but the whole outside is a different story.”
I think that if Grahame-Smith sticks to this mentality while writing the script, we’re going to see a worthy sequel in the next few years. However, with the time gap, we’re not really sure if any other original cast members would return. I don’t see Winona Ryder maintaining her gothic charm we saw in 1988 and I’d love to see Catherine O’Hara return, as well as Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin, but the chances of that seem pretty slim after all these years.
Are you a fan of the original Beetlejuice? What do you think of these new developments on the sequel?