Tim Burton’s ‘Beetlejuice’: 10 Things You May Not Know

Before video streaming and digital downloads, people could only rent movies by going to video stores like Blockbuster. That all changed in 1998 with the launch of Netflix as the world’s first online DVD rental store. Guess what the very first DVD ever shipped by the company was? Beetlejuice!

The Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, Jack Skellington, has appeared in many other Tim Burton projects. This includes a cameo in Beetlejuice, released five years before The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack’s face can briefly be seen on top of Betelgeuse’s carousel hat once the demon emerges from the model town.

The film’s title is clearly a play on the name Betelgeuse, but there’s something catchy and unique about calling the movie Beetlejuice. According to the book Burton on Burton, Warner Bros. was not sold on the title at the time, suggesting to Tim Burton he should call the film House Ghost instead.

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In jest, Burton then joked they should just call the movie Scared Sheetless and was mortified to hear the company was actually considering it. Fortunately, the film was ultimately given the simple title of Beetlejuice, and the rest is history.

In retrospect, Michael Keaton was obviously perfect for the role of Betelgeuse, but he wasn’t Tim Burton’s first choice. Burton’s book Burton on Burton reveals that classic entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. was who the director originally envisioned, but producer David Geffen recommended Keaton instead.

Before Keaton officially accepted the part, Burton had also reportedly approached Arnold Schwarzenegger about portraying Betelgeuse, but the Terminator star didn’t feel the role was right for him.

Like Keaton, Winona Ryder is perfectly cast in the movie, portraying the role of Lydia. According to Burton, Ryder was cast based on the strength of her performance in Lucas. However, if things didn’t work out with Ryder, Lydia would likely have been played by Alyssa Milano.

In 2016, Milano claimed in an interview the casting for Lydia had come down to either her or Ryder. “It was between the two of us, and she actually got the part,” Milano explained. “You always wonder what would have happened differently in my life had that worked out, not that I would want it to be any different, but it’s just an interesting thought game.”

For many ’80s and ’90s kids, Beetlejuice served as a gateway into the horror genre. Although there are some horror elements and spooky moments, the film is family-friendly. However, things were much darker in the original script, which included more horror and less comedy.

In this version, Betelgeuse would have been a winged demon determined to kill the Deetz family, even trying to rape Lydia rather than marry her. The script also included a second child character, Lydia’s nine-year-old sister Cathy, who winds up “mutilated” by Betelgeuse. Oh, and Lydia also dies in a fire at the end. At this moment, you’ve probably never felt so grateful for script revisions.

On a set filled with the beautifully grotesque imagery of Beetlejuice, it only makes sense for a romance to be born. When actress Catherine O’Hara met production designer Bo Welch while working on Beetlejuice, the two instantly hit it off. They were married just a few years after the film’s release and remain together to this day.

Strangely, movies like Evil Dead and The Toxic Avenger have gotten stage musicals before Beetlejuice, which seems tailor-made for such a thing. However, the Beetlejuice musical is finally happening. After having a premiere in Washington D.C. in the fall of 2018, the show is set to officially open on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on April 25, 2019.

You can watch a first-look video of the show on YouTube.

Following the success of Beetlejuice, Tim Burton hired screenwriter Jonathan Gems to pen a sequel called 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 said of Burton’s vision. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder were both reportedly on board, but the production of Batman Returns meant placing Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian on the shelf.

As late as 1996, Burton was still interested in making the movie, approaching Kevin Smith to write the script. However, it seems Betelgeuse just wasn’t meant to take a tropical vacation, and the film was ultimately never made.

Betelgeuse may not wind up in Hawaii but don’t count out a Beetlejuice 2 from happening just yet. In 2011, preliminary work on a modern sequel to Beetlejuice began once again, with Warner Bros. hiring Seth Grahame-Smith to write the script. “This will be a true 26 or 27 years later sequel,” Grahame-Smith explained, noting the film depended on Michael Keaton reprising the role. “What’s great is that for Beetlejuice [sic], time means nothing in the afterlife, but the world outside is a different story.”

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In the years since, we’ve gotten several teases about Beetlejuice 2, but the project can’t seem to get off the ground. Reportedly, both Keaton and Winona Ryder were interested in returning as long as Tim Burton was back to direct. From that point on, updates were scarce until 2015, when Grahame-Smith offered new hope by claiming the screenplay was complete. Ryder also confirmed on Late Night with Seth Meyers she would be coming back as Lydia. However, the project stalled once again, and production on the sequel still hasn’t begun.

“It’s something that I really would like to do in the right circumstances, but it’s one of those films where it has to be right,” Burton said in 2016 when asked about the potential sequel. “It’s not a kind of a movie that cries out [for a sequel]; it’s not the Beetlejuice trilogy. So it’s something that if the elements are right — because I do love the character, and Michael’s amazing as that character, so yeah, we’ll see. But there’s nothing concrete yet.”