Beetlejuice Beetlejuice turned out to be a sequel decades in the making, but judging by the box office, fans feel it was well worth the wait. In the film’s opening weekend alone, it brought in an impressive $111 million, making it one of the year’s biggest openings yet. And now that we’ve all gotten to revisit the Ghost With the Most and get to know a delightfully strange and unusual new Deetz (couldn’t have asked for a better Astrid than Jenna Ortega!), it’s only natural to look forward to more. Could Beetlejuice 3 really happen, though? And when?
It took 36 years for Warner Bros. to release the dark comedy follow-up to Tim Burton’s 1998 classic; suffice it to say we doubt anyone wants a repeat of that timeline. However, there are always a lot of moving parts with this type of production — particularly one stacked with both young Hollywood stars at the peak of their fame and OG actors experiencing a (very busy) renaissance. Still, it’s possible that all the stars could align for a third film to happen… especially given its box-office success.
So, here’s everything we know so far about the possibility of Beetlejuice 3.
What has Tim Burton said about a third film?
At first glance, the prospect of our favorite undead antihero returning doesn’t look good. When asked about the possibility of another sequel, Burton, who famously directed the original and returned for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, told The Hollywood Reporter, “Well, if [the same] time frame goes on, I’ll be about 100. So maybe. I doubt it.”
On the other hand, though, Burton has spoken about how meaningful doing this follow-up has been for him. He admitted to Variety that he was close to retirement after 2019’s live-action Dumbo, which only received mediocre reviews.
“I thought that could have been it, really,” he said before adding, “But this did reenergize me. Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else, but sometimes, you lose yourself a little bit. This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit.”
What else has been said about the franchise?
It certainly seems as though young star Ortega has enjoyed the kind of on-set experience that could translate into follow-up films. “Working with him is a dream,” Ortega told The Hollywood Reporter of her time on Beetlejuice 2 with Burton. “It’s the best. It’s so safe, it’s so collaborative, it’s so inviting, and everybody just keeps outdoing themselves. It’s very playful, and it doesn’t feel like work; you don’t want to leave. Playing [Ryder’s] daughter is probably one of the most grateful experiences I’ve ever had. She is just an absolute legend and one of the loveliest people.”
Producer Tommy Harper certainly seems to be leaving the door open. “We haven’t talked about where it could go from here; we just talked about making one really good movie. Make it the best you can, and then anything could happen,” he told Total Film.
And, you know, mission accomplished on the making a great film front, so… seems hopeful?
What could Beetlejuice 3 be about?
It feels like there are so many directions this could go. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice definitely ended in a good place, but it also created moments that could be mined more. Warning: Spoilers ahead!
In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton once again stars as the title ghoul, with Winona Ryder and Catherina O’Hara reprising their roles as Lydia and Delia Deetz, respectively. Ortega gets introduced as Lydia’s teenage daughter Astrid, Monica Belluci as a new villain, Justin Theroux as Lydia’s scammy boyfriend, and Willem Dafoe as a ghost cop.
The family returns to Winter River, Connecticut, the setting of the original film and home of Adam and Barbara Maitland (played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, respectively) — the couple who kick off the entire chain of events that unleashes Beetlejuice.
A third film could easily center more on Astrid and introduce a group of young new faces that become the stars of the franchise. Think: the rebooted Scream franchise, also starring Ortega.
There was also plenty of room left for Lydia to get a little redemption. In the sequel, she’s sort of… floundering. She lets herself be duped by Rory, her relationship with Astrid is rocky, and visions of the past quite literally haunt her. A third film could build on her relationship with Astrid, especially since we now know Astrid has inherited her mom’s ability to see dead people.
Then there’s the fact that the sequel ended in a total cliffhanger. Was Astrid’s wedding all a dream? And I’m not buying that Delia is actually dead! There are so many questions yet to be answered.
Besides, it would be a real missed opportunity if Warner Bros. didn’t make a third film called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — ya know, the phrase that summons the Ghost With the Most.
