Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian

Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian is a upcoming comedy horror fantasy film directed by Tim Burton. It is a spin-off to the 1988 film, Beetlejuice.

Cast

 * Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice
 * Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz

Production
In 1990, Burton hired Jonathan Gems to write a sequel titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian. "Tim thought it would be funny to match the surfing backdrop of a beach movie with some sort of German Expressionism, because they're totally wrong together," Gems reflected. The story followed the Deetz family moving to Hawaii, where Charles is developing a resort. They soon discover that his company is building on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. The spirit comes back from the afterlife to cause trouble, and Beetlejuice becomes a hero by winning a surf contest with magic. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder agreed to do the film, on the condition that Burton directed, but both he and Keaton became distracted with Batman Returns.

Burton was still interested in Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian in early 1991. Impressed with Daniel Waters' work on Heathers, Burton approached him for a rewrite. However, he eventually signed Waters to write the script for Batman Returns. By August 1993, producer David Geffen hired Pamela Norris (Troop Beverly Hills, Saturday Night Live) to rewrite. Warner Bros. approached Kevin Smith in 1996 to rewrite the script, though Smith turned down the offer in favor of Superman Lives. Smith responded with, "Didn't we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?" In March 1997, Gems released a statement saying "The Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script is still owned by The Geffen Film Company and it will likely never get made. You really couldn't do it now anyway. Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it."

In September 2011, Warner Bros. hired Seth Grahame-Smith, who collaborated with Burton on Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, to write and produce a sequel to Beetlejuice. Grahame-Smith signed on with the intention of doing "a story that is worthy of us actually doing this for real, something that is not just about cashing in, is not just about forcing a remake or a reboot down someone's throat." He was also adamant that Keaton would return and that Warner Bros. would not recast the role. Burton and Keaton have not officially signed on but will return if the script is good enough. He met with Keaton in February 2012, "We talked for a couple of hours and talked about big picture stuff. It’s a priority for Warner Bros. It’s a priority for Tim. [Michael]’s been wanting to do it for 20 years and he’ll talk to anybody about it who will listen." The story will be set in a real time frame from 1988; “This will be a true 26 or 27 years later sequel. What’s great is that for Beetlejuice, time means nothing in the afterlife, but the world outside is a different story.” On October 18, 2013, it was reported by Schmoes Know that the screenplay for the sequel is complete and that Burton is looking to return as its director, hoping to find time to film both the second Beetlejuice installment and adaptation of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which he was attached to earlier. It was later confirmed by The Wrap that Burton is indeed in talks to direct the sequel with Michael Keaton attached to star.

On November 19, 2013, Winona Ryder hinted at a possible return for the sequel as well by saying, "I'm kind of sworn to secrecy but it sounds like it might be happening. It's 27 years later. And I have to say, I love Lydia Deetz so much. She was such a huge part of me. I would be really interested in what she is doing 27 years later." Ryder confirmed that she would only consider making a sequel if Burton and Keaton were involved.

On February 14, 2014, Keaton confirmed that he had spoken to Tim Burton regarding the production of a sequel, and that preliminary talks are underway.

In December 2014, Burton commented that "It's a character that I love and I miss and I miss actually working with Michael. There's only one Betelgeuse. We're working on a script and I think it's probably closer than ever and I'd love to work with him again." In January 2015, writer Grahame-Smith told Entertainment Weekly that the script was finished and that he and Burton intended to start filming Beetlejuice 2 by the end of the year, and that both Keaton and Ryder would return in their respective roles as Beetlejuice and Lydia Deetz.

In August 2015, Ryder confirmed she would be reprising her role in the sequel on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Trivia
It's a spin off or a sequel to beetlejuice