Michael Keaton in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton said fans will be getting the 1988 version in the new Tim Burton movie.
Beetlejuice, of course, signaled the debut of Keaton’s bio-exorcist “Ghost with the Most” and the first time he worked with Burton. After that, Keaton re-teamed with the iconic director for 1989’s Batman, 1992’s Batman Returns and 2019’s Dumbo and now Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Of course, times have changed and audiences have become a lot more sensitive to humor, which has forced some filmmakers and performers to temper their content.
That will not be the case, however, with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Keaton said. In fact, Keaton told GQ, fans can expect the same sort of Beetlejuice that first got 36 years ago when the film opens on September 6.
“He’s a thing. He’s more of a thing than a he or a she, he’s more of an it. And I’m not saying ‘it’ to be politically correct” Keaton told GQ. “I just viewed it as a force more than anything. I mean, there’s definitely strong male energy, like stupid male energy, which I love. You don’t want to touch that because it’s not like you go, ‘Well, it’s a new year and this thing would now act like that.’”
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 09: (L-R) Michael Keaton and Tim Burton speak onstage during Warner Bros. … [+]
Keaton Has Noticed How ‘Serious’ Comedy Is Now
While Michael Keaton continues to have fun bringing to characters to life Beetlejuice, he also told GQ how surprised he is to see how many comedians take the craft so seriously.
“I was just with somebody I really liked the other day. This guy’s great, so talented, so funny. A stand-up. We were at a little get-together,” Keaton told GQ. “And for me, I mean—this guy’s way younger than me and I felt him behaving himself too much. I was pointing out some stuff that I thought was funny and I don’t know—I was shocked that there was no sense of mischief.”
In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), her stepdaughter, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) and her daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) return to Winter River because of a family tragedy. When the rebellious Astrid discovers a model town of Winter River, she accidentally opens a portal to the Afterlife, Beetlejuice returns, declaring, “The Juice is loose!”
Also starring Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice opens in theaters nationwide on September 6.
