Top 10 Behind the Scenes Facts About Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Top-10-Behind-the-Scenes-Facts-About-Beetlejuice-Beetlejuice

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the things you might not have known about the making of director Tim Burton’s long-awaited legacy sequel. A word of warning: spoilers for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” are to follow!

#10: How “MacArthur Park” Ended Up In the Movie

There was clearly a lot of pressure on Burton and co. to incorporate another memorable musical moment into “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” à la the first film’s instant classic “Day-O” sequence. Breaking down the film’s script for Entertainment Weekly, co-writer Alfred Gough explained that “We all wanted a musical number [...] We just didn't know what it was. It all felt like the movie was wrapping up too neatly.” Burton, according to Gough, has a jukebox in his home, which contained the original “MacArthur Park” recording, as performed by Richard Harris, solidifying his choice. The unique thing about this scene? Beetlejuice leads it, as opposed to “Day-O,” in which the character doesn't appear at all.

#9: Winona Ryder & Jenna Ortega Became Besties

Ryder is clearly building a reputation for herself as a mentor to a new generation of silver screen talent! Speaking to Screen Rant, Ryder gushed about working with “Wednesday” and “Scream” star Jenna Ortega, saying that “[I]t did feel a lot like I was talking to a younger version of myself, but she's just like a thousand times cooler. Because we both have the same almost religious reverence for film. She is a cinephile, and we just can talk movies for years.” This must’ve been a breath of fresh air for Ryder, who had previously bemoaned her young co-stars’ lack of interest in classic cinema as part of a 2024 Los Angeles Times profile.

#8: Tim Burton Had Some Help From A Friend

Alfred Gough, as part of that aforementioned Entertainment Weekly breakdown, explained how Burton’s friend and frequent collaborator Danny DeVito ended up making a small but memorable cameo in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.” Gough explained that he hadn’t written what would become DeVito’s role with any particular actor in mind; the screenwriter shared that “Tim called Danny and Danny said yes in a minute and came and did it, which was great.” In another fun bit of trivia, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” reunites DeVito, Burton, and Keaton, who worked together on “Batman Returns” and Burton’s live-action “Dumbo” remake, the latter alongside Colin Farrell. Not that DeVito’s presence ever needs to be explained away — isn’t it technically a crime to not love him?

#7: Multiple Attempts to Film A Sequel Failed

The answer as to why “Beetlejuice” fans had to wait so long for a sequel would be good, old-fashioned Hollywood bureaucracy. Although a number of wild ideas were floated (more on that in a moment), none of them came to fruition, and the project was killed, then revived, then killed again — rinse and repeat. For a moment in 2011, it looked like the “Beetlejuice” sequel was finally going to happen, with Warner Bros. hiring frequent Burton collaborator Seth Grahame-Smith to write and produce. Grahame-Smith told Entertainment Weekly in 2015 that filming would begin at the end of that year, with Winona Ryder reprising her role. Warner Bros. announced in 2019, however, that this iteration had met a familiar fate.

#6: What Do Hawaii, “Romeo & Juliet,” & “Beetlejuice” Have In Common?

As it turns out, quite a lot! After the original “Beetlejuice” was a box office hit, the Geffen Film Company immediately went to work on crafting a sequel. They commissioned two scripts in 1990. One was called “Beetlejuice in Love,” and was written by Warren Skaaren, who had worked on the first film’s script. This pitch involved Beetlejuice re-entering the world of the living, trying to steal “Julia” away from the deceased “Leo.” The other pitch? “Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian,” which would’ve seen Charles Deetz building a resort on an ancient Hawaiian burial ground. Beetlejuice would've saved the day by winning a surfing competition. Sounds like we should be thankful that we got “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” instead.

#5: Winona Ryder’s “Stranger Things” Contract Had a “Beetlejuice” Clause

Ryder, born Winona Laura Horowitz, had an extremely busy few years after “Beetlejuice” turned her into an overnight superstar. Once a prototypical media darling, America’s goth sweetheart faced intense backlash and public scrutiny after having been arrested for shoplifting in 2001. Cut to June 2015: Ryder is cast in what she doesn't yet know is her major comeback role, that of Joyce Wheeler in Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” As neither Ryder, her simultaneously cast co-star David Harbour, or the showrunning Duffer Brothers were aware of the show’s massive potential for crossover success, she insisted on only a single demand in her contract. That would be the ability to unconditionally take time off if a “Beetlejuice” sequel ever entered production.

#4: Why Charles Deetz Was Written Off

Jeffrey Jones, the actor behind Charles Deetz, was, at one point, ubiquitous in Hollywood, appearing in such ‘80s hits as “Amadeus,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” and, of course, “Beetlejuice,” as Lydia Deetz’s uptight, high-strung father Charles. While almost every starring cast member from the original “Beetlejuice” film was contracted to return for its sequel, Jones was conspicuously absent. While the character’s death is crucial to the plot of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” there’s a significant elephant in the room that likely contributed to Jones’ dismissal. That would be the fact that, in 2003, the actor was required to register as a sex offender in California for possession of illicit materials involving children; Jones pled no contest to a solicitation charge.

#3: Burton Felt That He Couldn't Make “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” Until Now

Reading about Burton’s motivation for making a sequel to one of his most legendary films really puts the events of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” into context. Upon finally signing on to make the film in 2022, the oddball director, speaking to British newspaper The Independent, claimed that he “tried to strip everything and go back to the basics of working with good people and actors and puppets.” Burton elaborated in an interview with Collider, describing the film as highly “personal,” and that “[t]what became the emotional hook, the three generations of mother, daughter, granddaughter, life, death — just basic normal things that we all experience. Especially if you're lucky enough to get older, you feel those things.”

#2: Why the Maitlands Don’t Appear

Burton brought on his “Wednesday” collaborators, Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, to write the screenplay for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” working from a story conceived of by them and Seth Grahame-Smith. Early on, the trio discussed ways to potentially bring back Adam and Barbara Maitland, as played by Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis in the first “Beetlejuice” film, for, at the very least, a cameo appearance. However, the filmmakers decided against it, citing a number of reasons. Among them, in a rather refreshing creative choice, was the inadequacy of contemporary de-aging technology (as ghosts wouldn't get older). In addition, Burton felt that the Maitlands’ story was already complete, and that reviving them would serve no narrative purpose beyond mere fan service.

#1: Michael Keaton Himself Insisted on Beetlejuice’s Limited Screen Time

For the Oscar nominee who earned top billing as the titular character in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” this might seem like kind of a counterintuitive decision. In a GQ profile published ahead of the sequel’s premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, Keaton explained why he made the demand one of the conditions of his return. The actor and occasional Batman declared that too much Beetlejuice would “kill it,” further elaborating by saying: “I think the Beetlejuice character doesn't drive the story as much as he did in the first one. He's more part of the storyline in this one as opposed to the first one, which is a case of, this thing comes in and drives the movie a little bit.”

What was your favorite “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” moment? Be sure to let us know in the comments!