In an interview with Variety, the creator of “Corpse Bride” and “Edward Scissorhands” admitted that he would no longer be interested in making superhero films. Let us recall that Burton has made two Batman films with Michael Keaton in his career (“Batman” 1989, “Batman Returns” 1992) for Warner Bros.
“I wouldn’t agree at the moment. (…) I look at it from different points of view, so I never say ‘never’, but at the moment it’s not something I’d be interested in.”
The director has a distance to contemporary superhero productions because the industry is too focused on long-term continuity and developing cinematic universes.
“I was lucky because at the time the word ‘franchise’ didn’t exist,” Burton explained. “‘Batman’ seemed a bit experimental at the time… It was a far cry from what a superhero movie could look like. (…) We just had to focus on the film and not think about the things that they are now starting to plan even before making it.“.
During the conversation, Burton talked about working on the sequel to “Beetlejuice”. The first part appeared on big screens in 1988.
“It was nice to return to the film now because Lydia was a character I always felt very connected to,” the director admitted.
The motivation to make “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice” was curiosity about the further fate of the characters and how they evolve over time:
“What happens to people 35 years later? Where are they going? What is their journey? And what happened to the Deetz family? (…) That became the starting point for what happened next. When you go from being a cool teenager to an adult, what kind of journey do you take? And then meeting all these people I love working with – Michael Keaton, Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder – it was just very strange but beautiful.”
In one of his conversations, Michael Keaton emphasized that “Beetlejuice” would never have been made if Tim Burton had not been a crazy visionary, interested in the world of the living and the dead at the same time.
“It wasn’t an easy idea to convey, but his passion and tenacity were clear. This creative process, guided by Tim’s vision, was one of the most fun and rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. He is a visionary who sees the world in a way that is hard to explain, but also brilliant when it all comes together.“.
After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetzes return home to Winter River. Lydia is still haunted by the memory of Beetlejuice. Now her life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers a mysterious model of the town in her attic, accidentally opening a portal to the afterlife. Trouble is in the air in both worlds, so it’s only a matter of time before someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the insidious demon returns to cause chaos like only he can – we learn from the official description of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”.
The film will hit cinemas soon September 6!
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