Michael Keaton will be back as the ghost with the most in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which will be released in theaters next month. The actor last played Beetlejuice in the 1988 film. Also returning is Tim Burton, who helmed the first film.

Nerd Reactor participated in a roundtable interview with other outlets during the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice junket in New York City.

Nerd Reactor: And so watching [Beetlejuice Beetlejuice], I felt like Michael Keaton, he never skipped decades’ worth of it.

Tim Burton: That’s scary as s***, man. We didn’t rehearse. We didn’t do anything, right? So he comes on and it was truly like… demon possession, and I feel like a time warp. You’re right. It was unnerving, it was great, it was exciting, but it was really also disturbing. [laughs]

Nerd Reactor: Yeah, I guess my question would be, like, just throughout the process, what were your thoughts behind seeing Michael Keaton come to life again?

Tim Burton: Yeah, it was great. I mean, that’s what gave the film its energy, you know. We’d make up stuff every day, which is kind of hard to do when you’re dealing with all live effects. But we did it, and I worked with the effects people who, in the spirit of the movie, would make these things very quickly. Michael and I talked about this from the very beginning. That was very important to the spirit, especially with all the technology, we can do all this stuff, whatever, we just wanted to kind of not think about a sequel or anything, but just go and just make the movie. And so like you said that energy of what he brought back to it was amazing and crucial.

About Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Keaton is joined by Winona Ryder (Stranger Things, Little Women) as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara (Schitt$ Creek, The Nightmare Before Christmas) as Delia Deetz, with new cast members Justin Theroux (Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, The Leftovers), Monica Bellucci (Spectre, The Matrix films), Arthur Conti (House of the Dragon) in his feature film debut, with Jenna Ortega (Wednesday, Scream VI) as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, and Willem Dafoe (Poor Things, At Eternity’s Gate).

Synopsis: After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River.  Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.

Burton directs from a screenplay by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (Wednesday), story by Gough & Millar and Seth Grahame-Smith (The LEGO Batman Movie), based on characters created by Michael McDowell & Larry Wilson.  The film’s producers are Marc Toberoff, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Tommy Harper and Burton, with Sara Desmond, Katterli Frauenfelder, Gough, Millar, Larry Wilson, Laurence Senelick and Brad Pitt executive producing.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice releases in theaters and IMAX on September 6, 2024 in North America, and internationally beginning 4 September 2024.

Featured image: Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice in Warner Bros. Pictures’ comedy, “BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit Parisa Taghizadeh