Beetlejuice 2: Fun idea or 'travesty?'

Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! In Tim's Burton's 1988 hit, a zany ghoul played by Michael Keaton could be summoned by calling his name three times. Now, it seems that Beetlejuice may, at least, get one more reiteration. Deadline reports that Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenburg, a hot young producing pair that recently signed a first-look deal at Warner Bros., are looking to make a Beetlejuice sequel. Would this be amusing or, as some predict, a horrifying "travesty?"

This could be fun: "Beetlejuice 2 is not a bad idea — and may even be a pretty good one," says Christopher Campbell at IndieWire. Michael Keaton would return to play the lead, some speculate, which would be fun. This can't be worse than the Beetlejuice animated series or the Beetlejuice Goes Hawaii beach movie take-off that almost happened. And, hey, at least it would be a sequel and not another remake. From Gremlins to Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, a number of films have ended up with sequels that improved on the original.

"5 reasons I'm okay with a Beetlejuice sequel"

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And there are talented people involved: A number of '80s flicks have been reinvented of late with mixed success, but "this one does have some interesting pedigree behind it," says Chris Beveridge at The Fandom Post. Seth Grahame-Smith, who's penning the Dark Shadows screenplay (which Tim Burton will direct), has already made a name for himself with his best-selling novels Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as well as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter — both of which are being buzzily adapted as films.

"Say it three times – 'Beetlejuice' reboot!"

I'm not so sure about this: "You'll have to forgive my skepticism," but I can't get happy about this, says Russ Fischer at Slash Film. Beetlejuice doesn't need a sequel, and Grahame-Smith is just a "guy who got famous adding zombies to someone else's novel." Seems to me like this "a travesty, or at least a puzzling idea."

"Beetlejuice sequel could leak from the pen of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author"