Beetlejuice 2 is officially on the way

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

A sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 fantasy horror comedy is officially on the way. During Warner Bros. CinemaCon presentation, a title treatment for Beetlejuice 2 briefly popped up during a sizzle reel of movies coming soon.

The original movie follows a recently deceased couple (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) who, after returning to the land of the living as ghosts, are unhappy with the new family moving in. The couple enlists the help of so-called "bio-exorcist" Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to scare them away – and realize that a member of the new family, a young girl named Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) can see them.

Beetlejuice was a critical and commercial success, bringing in over $74 million at the global box office against a budget of $15 million and winning the Academy Award for Best Makeup. The film also spawned an animated series that aired on ABC and Fox in 1989 and a 2018 Broadway Musical.

Wednesday star Jenna Ortega is reportedly in talks to join the sequel as Ryder's daughter, with Keaton set to return. 

A sequel to the hit film has been in development hell since 1990, when Burton hired Mars Attacks! screenwriter Jonathan Gems to write a script titled "Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian," which would have seen the Deetz family move to Hawaii. Burton and Keaton were reportedly in talks about a sequel again around 2012, before Warner Bros. announced the movie had been shelved in 2019. The official sequel was announced in March last year.

Beetlejuice 2 does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2023 and beyond.