Seth Grahame-Smith’s Beetlejuice 2 approach: Less is more

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Not unlike the forthcoming GHOSTBUSTERS reboot, BEETLEJUICE 2 is a project that provokes both curiosity and severe skepticism. Those of us who grew up with the characters from these films hold them very close to our hearts; the prospect of revisiting them this many years later is undeniably intriguing, and yet, in a way, very scary. (Although in the case of Ghostbusters, it’ll be all new characters. Supposedly.)

The sequel to the 1988 horror-comedy does have some goodwill going for it. Director Tim Burton is on board, as is star Michael Keaton. (Even Winona Ryder might be involved.) The film’s screenwriter, Seth Grahame-Smith, is an interesting case: he’s had a ton of success with his novels “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” yet his screenplays (for Abe Lincoln and Burton’s DARK SHADOWS) have resulted in subpar movies. Is he the right man for the job?

That remains to be seen, but the fact is Grahame-Smith’s currently polishing his BEETLEJUICE 2 screenplay, and the project indeed appears to be moving ahead. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Grahame-Smith says Keaton told him to take a “less is more” approach to the sequel, means Beetlejuice won’t necessarily be the lead character. As the article notes, Beetlejuice doesn’t really become a main protagonist in the first film until about halfway through, and even then he’s still mostly a supporting character.

It should also be made clear that the film is set in the present day.

So who will the main characters be? My hunch is, it’s another family that calls upon Beetlejuice to help them clean house. Or, perhaps the lead will be Lydia Deetz, all grown up? Hopefully we’ll find out sooner rather than later.