Michael Keaton had a vision for how Beetlejuice would be portrayed in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” and he intentionally made sure the character didn’t take on a politically correct persona.
The legendary actor made it clear that Beetlejuice wouldn’t conform to political correctness simply because the production came at a time when it became prevalent in a number of Hollywood projects.
“As for the character himself, there was not a ton of updating to be done there,” he told GQ in an interview that was published Aug. 19. “Beetlejuice, debauched sicko in 1988, remains a debauched sicko in our more enlightened era.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 14: Michael Keaton attends the Special Screening and Q&A Event for Hulu’s “DOPESICK” at El Capitan Theatre on June 14, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic) Getty Images
Keaton made sure the iconic character didn’t get a sensitivity makeover and wasn’t unnecessarily updated to reflect the times, and made it clear that in this particular case, the transformation was not necessary.
“He’s a thing. He’s more of a thing than a he or a she, he’s more of an it,” Keaton told GQ.
“And I’m not saying ‘it’ to be politically correct. I just viewed it as a force more than anything. I mean, there’s definitely strong male energy, like stupid male energy, which I love,” he said.
“You don’t want to touch that because it’s not like you go, ‘Well, it’s a new year and this thing would now act like that.’”
Keaton has spoken out about politics in the past, and admitted that it wasn’t a comfortable topic for a famous figure. “I learned a long time ago, you do more damage because you’re famous,” he told The Hollywood Reporter, shortly after he publicly campaigned for Joe Biden in 2020.
“I’ve told people, you don’t want me there. They’ll go, ‘Well of course he brought his Hollywood friend.’ You know what people forget? We all were just some person somewhere in Cincinnati or fucking Ottawa or fucking Cleveland,” he said at the time.
Keaton was also adamant that Beetlejuice should not take on an increased amount of screen time. He kept aligned with the original series, and used that formula as a directive for the contemporary production.
“The idea was, no, no, no, you can’t load it up with Beetlejuice, that’ll kill it,” Keaton said.
“I think the Beetlejuice character doesn’t drive the story as much as he did in the first one. He’s more part of the storyline in this one as opposed to the first one, which is a case of, this thing comes in and drives the movie a little bit,” he told GQ.
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – AUGUST 13: (L-R) Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, Justin Theroux, Mónica Bellucci and Tim Burton pose during the photocall for the movie ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ at Four Seasons Hotel on August 13, 2024 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Jaime Nogales/Medios y Media/Getty Images)
The character only appeared on-screen for a total of 17 movies in the 1988 original, according to GQ.
Keaton found a balance when it came to Beetlejuice’s screen-time, and made sure he didn’t single-handedly become the star of the show.
The Tim-Burton produced sequel also stars original cast members Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara. Jenna Ortega and Willem Dafoe will join the cast.(RELATED: Jenna Ortega Reveals The Super Creepy Thing Tim Burton Keeps In His House)
“The [original] was so fun and exciting visually. [The sequel is] all that but really beautiful and interestingly emotional here and there,” Keaton said. “I wasn’t ready for that. It’s great,” Keaton told GQ.
