Michael Keaton: I Wanted Another Beetlejuice 20 Years Ago, Nobody Paid Attention

1988 unearthed a gem of a comedy via Tim Burton's obscure flick Beetlejuice with Michael Keaton in the lead role. Alongside a young Winona Ryder with Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, the half-and-a-half romp gathered $73.7m domestically from a $15m budget. It also quickly became much loved. But, according to RTE, the likelihood of a sequel seems long gone.

After going into the wilderness at the turn of the 21st Century, fans are now rediscovering Keaton as an actor. Just take a look back at his catalogue of hits from the 80s and 90s. Winning a golden Globe for his performance in the 2014 drama Birdman, Keaton has outlined how the project for a follow up fell apart and why it appears impossible to ever get it happening.

Decision Out Of His Hands Regardless of Appetite

Beetlejuice Michael Keaton

Speaking with the Australian press via The Sydney Morning Herald, Keaton did not hide the fact that he was pushing for a sequel against all the odds.

"I f***ing loved doing that movie," he told the publication. "If I never did another thing, you could point to that and say, 'There was never anything like that.' So I always said, man, let's do that again. Whoever is in charge has had the opportunity to make it for many, many years. They should have just pulled the trigger and done it. But they didn't, and it had nothing to do with me or Tim (Burton)."

And it wasn't like he gave up at the first opportunity either.

"I can go back 20 years, maybe longer, maybe I was the one who even brought it up. I maybe said, 'If there's one thing I'd like to remake, it's Beetlejuice' – and that might be 20 years ago that I said it," said Keaton. "Nobody paid attention, but all of a sudden people tell me, 'I hear you're doing it', and I'm like, 'I have no idea what you're talking about'. Wait a minute, am I crazy? Why are people still talking about this?"

Keaton's Latest Work Shows The Birth Of McDonalds

Michael Keaton in The Founder

The Founder is Keaton's latest masterpiece, with the 2016 drama hitting cinemas next month to retell the start of the most successful fast food chain on the planet. Coming out in the US just prior to Christmas on December 16, The Weinstein Company production casts Keaton in the lead role as Ray Kroc.

Kroc was a businessman who joined the franchise in 1954, with his ambitious decisions transforming the trajectory the company would eventually embark upon. And the rest, as they say, is history. Hopefully for fans of Beetlejuice it won't remain yesterday's news.

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