Tim Burton will Direct Beetlejuice 2

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]umours concerning gothically inclined director Tim Burton and a possible sequel to his quirky 1988 classic Beetlejuice have been worming their way into our brains for some time. Perhaps Burton is in particularly fine form this Halloween, as the rumours have at last been confirmed. It seems the director is in serious talks to put together a second outing for the be-striped ‘bio-exorcist’ known as Betelgeuse, who will almost certainly be played once again by Michael Keaton.

Beetlejuice 2 is not likely to be Burton’s next offering, as he is due to begin work on a fantasy film, the rather wonderfully titled Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The ball is certainly rolling however, as Seth Grahame Smith (who wrote the screenplay for Burton’s Dark Shadows) and David Katzenberg have apparently co-written the script, although we know nothing of plot details as of yet.

While it hasn’t been absolutely confirmed that original star Keaton will be returning to his role, it seems an unthinkable thought to go ahead with a follow-up to Beetlejuice without the man himself on board. Keaton has certainly been busy of late, working on both Robocop and Need for Speed (and he’s purported to again be providing the voice of Ken in the very vaguely rumoured Toy Story 4).

Other stars of the first film include Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder, and it’s certainly possible that one or two of them could pop back up in the sequel. Or, perhaps we could even see cameos from some of Burton’s actors of choice, such as Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter.

Mr Burton’s going to be busy with other projects for quite some time yet, but it looks like Betelgeuse will be hitting our screens again much sooner than any of us thought. Whatever you do, don’t say it three times in a row…