Beetlejuice 2 in early development from Brad Pitt's production company

Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)

Beetlejuice 2 is in early development after Brad Pitt's production company Plan B Entertainment boarded the project. The Ankler first reported the news, with Deadline later confirming.

Directed by Tim Burton, the original movie was released in 1988 and follows a recently deceased couple (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) who are ghosts haunting their old home. After the Deetz family (Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder, and Jeffrey Jones) move in, the couple enlists the help of so-called "bio-exorcist" Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to scare them away.

An animated TV show executive produced by Burton, multiple video games, and a Broadway musical followed the success of the movie. 

There has been talk of a sequel since 1990, when Burton hired Mars Attacks! screenwriter Jonathan Gems to write a script titled "Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian", which would have seen the Deetz family move to Hawaii. Burton and Keaton were reportedly in talks about a sequel again around 2012, before Warner Bros. announced the movie had been shelved in 2019.

No further details have been confirmed on the sequel yet, so we don't know who'll be directing or writing the movie or whether cast members like Keaton or Ryder will definitely be returning.

Plan B Entertainment's recent projects include Oscar-nominated Minari and the Prime Video series The Underground Railroad, directed by Barry Jenkins, while its upcoming movies include the Netflix Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde and Parasite director Bong Joon-ho's next project.

While we wait for Beetlejuice 2 to arrive on the big screen, check out our list of the other upcoming movies to get excited about this year.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice 2 star Jenna Ortega would love to star in another classic horror comedy franchise: Gremlins
The Goonies
After 40 years, a sequel to The Goonies is finally in the works and Steven Spielberg is back to produce
Gizmo in Gremlins
New Goonies and Gremlins movies are in the works at Warner Bros. because we’re not done with '80s nostalgia
Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried as Jennifer and Needy in Jennifer's Body
16 years after it was released, cult '00s horror movie may be getting a surprise sequel: "We're working on it"
Bong Joon Ho at the 2020 Oscars
Parasite director's next live-action film is reportedly a horror action movie set on the subway that he's been thinking about for 24 years
Cloverfield monster
Cloverfield 2 is still moving forward as director teases the long-awaited sequel: "You're gonna get something amazing"
Latest in Comedy Movies
John Cena in Barbie
John Cena comedy Coyote Vs. Acme might come out after all, over a year after it was controversially shelved
Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2
29 years later, Happy Gilmore 2 trailer sees Adam Sandler return to the course with familiar faces – and confirms release date
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, and Michael Cera in Superbad
Seth Rogen says Sony wouldn't let Jonah Hill use a PlayStation in Superbad as his character was too "reprehensible": "They're like, 'We can't have him interact with our products'"
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in Freakier Friday
Freaky Friday 2 trailer promises more body-swap hilarity from Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan in long-awaited sequel
Jenna Ortega as Astrid Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice 2 star Jenna Ortega would love to star in another classic horror comedy franchise: Gremlins
This is Spinal Tap
First Spinal Tap 2 teaser reveals release date for comedy sequel that’s over 40 years in the making
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"