Michael Keaton is stirring excitement among “Beetlejuice” fans after divulging details about the sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE published Monday.
Amidst the buzz for his latest film, “Knox Goes Away,” Keaton expressed his delight in reuniting with the “Beetlejuice” cast and crew. “It’s the most fun I’ve had on set in a long time,” Keaton told PEOPLE. “On one hand, you’d go, ‘Well, of course it’s the most fun. It looks like fun.’ As you know, it doesn’t always work like that.”
The sequel sees Keaton reprise his role alongside original stars Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder, with newcomers Monica Bellucci and Jenna Ortega joining the ensemble. Tim Burton, who directed the original film, also returned to helm the sequel. (RELATED: Tim Burton Announces Major ‘Beetlejuice 2’ Update)
Michael Keaton Teases Beetlejuice Sequel: A ‘Shrunken Head Room’ and ‘Enormous Fun’ (Exclusive) https://t.co/yjxbfWjSOE
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Keaton highlighted the creative synergy between him and Burton, with whom he has collaborated on multiple projects including “Batman” and “Batman Returns.” Both were adamant about preserving the authentic, handcrafted feel of the original Beetlejuice, steering clear of an over-reliance on CGI, to maintain the charm and whimsy of the Beetlejuice universe.
“The one thing that he and I decided on early, early, early on from the beginning, if we ever did it again, I was totally not interested in doing something where there was too much technology,” he added. “It had to feel handmade.”
“What made it fun was watching somebody in the corner actually holding something up for you, to watch everybody in the shrunken head room and say, ‘Those are people under there, operating these things, trying to get it right,’” he continued.
Keaton didn’t provide specifics on the shrunken head sequence, yet the initial movie featured a scene where Beetlejuice’s head is diminished by a witch doctor, an experience shared by a hunter in the film.
“It’s the most exciting thing,” the actor recalled. “When you get to do that again after years of standing in front of a giant screen, pretending somebody’s across the way from you, this is just enormous fun.”