Michael Keaton reveals his issue with ‘Beetlejuice’
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(Credits: Far Out / Warner Bros.)
Michael Keaton is set to return to the character of Beetlejuice in an upcoming sequel to the 1980s classic, but he had to overcome the strange merchandising of the character to do so.
Keaton starred as the ghostly titular character in the original Beetlejuice back in 1988. Like most Tim Burton offerings, the film featured some particularly distinctive costuming and makeup, with Keaton donning a black-and-white striped suit and black rings around his eyes.
The character quickly became iconic, becoming a go-to Halloween costume and the subject of some strange merchandising, much to Keaton’s despair. “That was fucking weird,” he divulged during a conversation with Empire.
“To be honest with you,” the star continued, “I’m being very frank – it was off-putting to look and go, ‘I don’t want to look like all these little things, fuck that – what was the thing that started this?’”
While preparing for his return to the character, Keaton was forced to look past the excessive merchandise of Beetlejuice to try and remember why he took on the role in the first place.
“I had to drop back to where it started,” he explained, “I had to go, ‘What was my unusual imagination even thinking about it when I was developing it in the first place?’ As opposed to seeing a coffee mug or a golf club cover.”
Keaton isn’t the only star who is set to return to the world of Beetlejuice in the upcoming sequel. Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are both set to return to their roles as the Deetz family, while new additions to the cast include Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe and Justin Theroux.
Burton has also returned to direct the follow-up film, while Alfred Gough and Miles Millar have penned the script. Danny Elfman returns to provide the music.
A trailer for the highly-anticipated sequel has already been released, with an introduction from Ryder who warns, “It’s intense.” The clip shows Ortega’s character, Astrid, off-handedly saying Beetlejuice’s name three times, unaware of the chaos it will unleash.
Her words conjure Keaton in his iconic striped suit, who declares, “The Juice is loose.” A series of characteristically Burton visuals follow, while Ryder’s character ruminates on the co-existence of the living and the dead.
The long-awaited sequel, titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, is set to his cinemas this autumn on September 6th.
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