Development

In 1990, Tim Burton hired Jonathan Gems to write a Beetlejuice sequel titled Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.^[6] "Tim thought it would be funny to match the surfing backdrop of a beach movie with some sort of German Expressionism, because they're totally wrong together," Gems said.^[7] The story followed the Deetz family moving to Hawaii, where Charles is developing a resort. They soon discover that his company is building on the burial ground of an ancient Hawaiian Kahuna. The spirit comes back from the afterlife to cause trouble, and Beetlejuice becomes a hero by winning a surf contest with magic. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder agreed to do the film, on the condition that Burton directed, but both he and Keaton became distracted with Batman Returns.^[7]

Burton was still interested in Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian in early 1991. Impressed with Daniel Waters' work on Heathers, which also stars Winona Ryder, Burton approached him for a rewrite. However, he eventually signed Waters to write the script for Batman Returns.^[8] By August 1993, producer David Geffen hired Pamela Norris (Troop Beverly Hills, Saturday Night Live) to rewrite.^[9] Warner Bros. approached Kevin Smith in 1996 to rewrite the script, though Smith turned down the offer in favor of Superman Lives. Smith later joked that his response was "Didn't we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?"^[10] In March 1997, Gems released a statement saying "The Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script is still owned by The Geffen Company and it will likely never get made. You really couldn't do it now anyway. Winona is too old for the role, and the only way they could make it would be to totally recast it."^[7]

In September 2011, Warner Bros. hired Seth Grahame-Smith, who collaborated with Burton on Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, to write and produce a sequel to Beetlejuice.^[11] Grahame-Smith signed on with the intention of doing "a story that is worthy of us actually doing this for real, something that is not just about cashing in, is not just about forcing a remake or a reboot down someone's throat." He was also adamant that Keaton would return and that Warner Bros. would not recast the role. Burton and Keaton had not officially signed on but would return if the script was good enough.^[12] Grahame-Smith met with Keaton in February 2012, "We talked for a couple of hours and talked about big picture stuff. It's a priority for Warner Bros. It's a priority for Tim. [Michael's] been wanting to do it for 20 years and he'll talk to anybody about it who will listen."^[13]

In November 2013, Ryder hinted at a possible return for the sequel as well by saying, "I'm kind of sworn to secrecy but it sounds like it might be happening. It's 27 years later. And I have to say, I love Lydia Deetz so much. She was such a huge part of me. I would be really interested in what she is doing 27 years later." Ryder confirmed that she would only consider making a sequel if Burton and Keaton were involved.^[15] In December 2014, Burton stated, "It's a character that I love and I miss actually working with Michael. There's only one Betelgeuse. We're working on a script and I think it's probably closer than ever and I'd love to work with him again."^[16] In January 2015, writer Grahame-Smith told Entertainment Weekly that the script was finished and that he and Burton intended to start filming Beetlejuice 2 by the end of the year, and that both Keaton and Ryder would return in their respective roles.^[17] In August 2015, on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Ryder confirmed she would be reprising her role in the sequel.^[18] In May 2016, Burton stated, "It's something that I really would like to do in the right circumstances, but it's one of those films where it has to be right. It's not a kind of a movie that cries out [for a sequel], it's not the Beetlejuice trilogy. So it's something that if the elements are right—because I do love the character and Michael's amazing as that character, so yeah we'll see. But there's nothing concrete yet."^[19] In October 2017, Mike Vukadinovich was hired to re-write the script.^[20] In April 2019, Warner Bros. stated the sequel had been shelved.^[21]

Pre-production

In February 2022, a sequel was announced again, this time produced by Brad Pitt's studio Plan B Entertainment, alongside Warner Bros.^[22] Burton stated in October 2022 that he was not involved in the project, but backtracked days later, saying "nothing is out of the question".^[23] Burton ultimately returned as the film's director and tried to strip everything from the story to go to the basics of working with "good people, actors and puppets", feeling that the project made him reflect why he liked making movies.^[24] In March 2023, it was reported by Variety that Jenna Ortega, who previously worked with Burton on the Netflix series Wednesday, was in talks to play Astrid Deetz,^[2] Lydia's daughter,^[25][26] while Burton was now expected to direct the film.^[27] In May, Danny Elfman announced he was returning to compose the score for the sequel, while it was also revealed Ortega was confirmed to star, and Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar wrote the script.^[28] Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe would also be added to the cast, in undisclosed roles, with Dafoe's being described as an afterlife officer.^[29][4] Dafoe later explained to Variety at the Marrakesh Film Festival that his character is an afterlife police officer who used to be a B movie action star in life before dying in an accident, with his skills leading him to become a detective within the realm.^[3] He later regretted sharing those details about his character, fearing that Burton may get angry with him for revealing a few spoilers from the movie.^[30] Catherine O'Hara reprises her role as Delia Deetz, as well as Monica Bellucci joining the cast as Betelgeuse's wife.^[31] Colleen Atwood, a frequent collaborator of Burton, was announced to be working on the costume design for the film.^[32] Atwood disclosed that Betelgeuse's striped suit would return in the film, as it is iconic to the character's quintessential appearance in the same way the titular character of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland novel sports an iconic blue dress, though Keaton disagreed and preferred Betelgeuse's burgundy tuxedo.^[33]

Filming

Filming was originally scheduled to begin in mid-2022.^[34][35] Later, it was delayed to an expected start date of May 10, 2023, taking place in London if the 2023 WGA strike did not lead to another delay in production.^[36][37] Production was officially confirmed to have begun the following day,^[4] with Haris Zambarloukos serving as cinematographer.^[38] On May 18, 2023, it was reported that filming was taking place around the Princess Helena College in Preston, Hertfordshire, England.^[39][40] Exterior filming took place in East Corinth, Vermont (the location of the original movie's outdoor scenes), in mid-2023.^[41] Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.^[42] Burton described the film, which he enjoyed making, as being "99% done" with just a day and a half necessary to finish it.^[24] Filming resumed on November 16, 2023, in Melrose, Massachusetts,^[43] and wrapped in Vermont on November 30, 2023.^[44]