At this point, it almost feels like talk of a sequel to the 1988 Michael Keaton- Winona Ryder-starring film Beetlejuice is sort of akin to talk of cleaning up the New York City subway system, or driving a few hours in the city of Los Angeles without hitting a traffic pile-up at least once: A nice thought, but you know it's never going to happen. But hey, chins up, Beetlejuice fans — because it looks like your luck may be about to change. Despite talk of a Beetlejuice sequel having been around about as long as the first film has, it looks like those rumors might finally be about to turn into a reality. According to IGN, during a press conference for his upcoming film Big Eyes, Tim Burton stated that Beetlejuice 2 is "closer than ever" to happening, but only if original star Keaton agrees to return.
Wait — say what?!
"There’s only one Beetlejuice, and that’s Michael. There is a script, and I would love to work with him again. I think there is now a better chance than ever," Burton revealed. "I miss that character. There’s something that’s cathartic and amazing about it. I think it’s closer than ever."
OK, OK, so it's not confirmation or anything — but, coupled with rumors that Keaton is definitely up for a sequel, as well as fairly recent reports that Ryder has, too, been in talks for a sequel to the cult favorite film, it's definitely the most hope fans have been granted in ages.
While one might think that the time passed since the first film and the possible upcoming sequel may be too long to sufficiently support any possible plot ideas, this definitely wouldn't be the first time that a classic film has received a sequel decades later — so there's still hope for this project, should it ever make it to production:
The Godfather Part III (1990)
This film, for example, was released in 1990, after the Godfather Part II was released in 1974 — and good thing it did, too, because it was so good that it even nabbed Oscar nominations.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Though it perhaps wasn't the greatest triumph script-wise for the franchise (like, at all) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull did come out in 2008...19 years after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade did in 1989. Long enough to justify Indiana Jones having a kid old enough to be played by Shia LaBeouf!
Dumb and Dumber To (2014)
One of the most recent films to receive a sequel decades after the original, Dumb and Dumber To managed to secure the first film's two main stars — Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels — 10 years after the original Dumb and Dumber was released in 1994. Considering both Carey and Daniels are big stars right now and certainly didn't need a sequel to Dumb and Dumber on their IMDb pages, it was a pretty big deal, too.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
And really...who can forget the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII, which is set to be released in 2015, a whole 32 years after the original trilogy ended with Return of the Jedi, and a whole 10 years after the prequel trilogy ended with Revenge of the Sith?
Sequels produced years, even decades, after an original film has been released are more than common in Hollywood, so, in some ways, the time it's taken to actually make this Beetlejuice sequel happen perhaps makes it all the more likely. And who wouldn't want to see more of this guy?
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