It’s almost showtime again! Ahead of the September 6 release ofBeetlejuice Beetlejuicelead actorMichael Keatonsat down withEmpire Magazineto talk about returning to his famous horror/comedy character from the 1988 filmBeetlejuice. Keaton says in order to put on the familiar stripes once again and get into the mindset of Beetlejuice, he had to “drop back to where it started. “I had to go, ‘What was my unusual imagination even thinking about when I was developing it in the first place?'”
It was “surreal” says the actor, about stepping back into the role of the bio-exorcist afterBeetlejuice. Both movie and character have solidified themselves into pop culture and a classic in terms of directorTim Burton’s film canon. Keaton says he stripped the character back to his 1988 roots because there’s been “so much” merchandise and marketing for the character and “to be honest with you – I’m being very frank – it was off-putting, to look and go, ‘I don’t want to look like all these littlethings, f**kthat– what was the thing that started this?’”
Michael Keaton Acted Like He Was Possessed By a Demon as Beetlejuice
Whatever Keaton did to get back into the titular role, it was successful in the eyes of everyone around him in the film, both new and old to the franchise. “It was like he was possessed by a demon, because he just went right back into it,” says Tim Burton. Co-starCatherine O’Haraechoed similar sentiments, calling the performance “insane.” New to the franchise isJenna Ortega. She recently stepped out of another Gothic character, Wednesday Addams, and into the role of Lydia Deets’s (Winona Ryder) daughter inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, Astrid Deetz. Ortega says “it was like an animal with a gun had just walked into the room.”
To watch him physically change and appear and Michael Keaton to be gone, and for me to be dealing with this Betelgeuse guy… it blew my mind.
Keaton has similar high hopes for the movie as a whole, saying “I love it. I absolutely love this thing. And I don’t [usually] talk like that. Iunabashedlylove this. It was not easy to pull off, and I think we did it in spades.”
You can watch the originalBeetlejuicemovie on Prime Video.Beetlejuice Beetlejuicewill be crawling into theaters September 6. Watch the trailer below:
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: The sequel to the cult classic brings back the infamous ghost Beetlejuice, who is unleashed upon a modern family, setting off a chain of hilarious and supernatural events. As mischief ensues, both the living and the deceased must deal with the resulting chaos, blending comedic antics with ghostly intrigue.
Watch on Prime Video
