Beetlejuice Beetlejuice director Tim Burton has likened Michael Keaton's transformation into the titular trickster to being "possessed by a demon."
The filmmaker, who also helmed the original 1988 horror comedy starring Keaton, told Empire the actor had no problem slipping into his stripes again for the long-gestating sequel. He claimed it was as if he had never been away, even though more than 30 years had passed since he last raised hell as the green-haired ghost.
"It was like he was possessed by a demon because he just went right back into it," Burton said of Keaton's performance. "It was insane," Catherine O'Hara added. "Insane." Jenna Ortega recalled her experience acting alongside the ghost with the most too. "It was like an animal with a gun had just walked into the room," she said. "To watch him physically change and appear and Michael Keaton to be gone, and for me to be dealing with this Beetlejuice guy… It blew my mind."
It was like he was possessed by a demon.
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Keaton admitted it was slightly different playing Beetlejuice (also known as Betelgeuse) this time compared to his first outing because the character is now considered somewhat of a pop culture icon. He said he had to look past the movie merchandising and return to the character's roots to let the juice loose again.
"There's been so much merchandising of it, I had to drop back to where it started," he explained. "I had to go, 'What was my unusual imagination even thinking about when I was developing it in the first place?' As opposed to seeing a coffee mug or a golf club cover [adorned with Betelgeuse's face]."
Keaton gave the upcoming sequel his seal of approval, teasing something special. "I love it," he said. "I absolutely love this thing. And I don't [usually] talk like that. I unabashedly love this. It was not easy to pull off, and I think we did it in spades."
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice summons several other actors, including O'Hara's Delia Deetz, along with newcomers Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, Justin Theroux, Burn Gorman, and Ortega, who plays Lydia's daughter, Astrid. They each play into a story that picks up long after the events of Burton's film (as seen in the latest trailer).
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will spawn in theaters on September 6, so there are a few more months to go until "it's showtime!"
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
