Michael Keaton had one huge demand before signing up to Beetlejuice 2
Fans were delighted today to see Michael Keaton back in the role of trickster ghost Beetlejuice after a 36-year wait, but there was one demand that had to be met before he agreed to return.
Keaton is a Hollywood legend, known for his work in Mr. Mom, Batman and of course, 1988 comedy-horror, Beetlejuice.
The latter is getting a long-awaited sequel though, and you can view the teaser trailer here:
Advert
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will see many of the original cast reprising their roles with Keaton making his return as the titular character alongside Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara.
But there are some new faces, with Hollywood's new scream queen Jenna Ortega joining the cast with Monica Bellucci. Director Tim Burton has also returned for the sequel.
The original followed the crude demon Beetlejuice as he was enlisted by a ghost couple to scare people out of a house that they once lived in.
It was a film that was unique for its time, with its bizarre ideas and Keaton's creepy portrayal of the eccentric demon putting the movie high in critics' ranks.
But a sequel has been set to hit out screens in September this year, 36 years after the original.
With Keaton reprising his role as Beetlejuice, he made it clear early on that the filmmakers must adhere to one demand.
Speaking to People, he admitted that making the movie was the 'most fun' he'd had on set 'in a long time'.
The 72-year-old said he was keen to do a sequel, but only if they could hit the nail on the head: “We thought, ‘You got to get this right. Otherwise, just don't do it. Let's just go on with our lives and do other things.’
“Once we got there, I said, ‘Okay, let's just go for it. Let's just see if we can do it, if we can pull this off,'"
But he admitted that he had one demand, which Burton agreed on.
He said: “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.
“It had to feel handmade."
Talking about the methods they used on set to ensure it was handmade, he said: “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 called it 'the most exciting thing', having spent the past few years of his career doing this kind of work in front of a green screen, pretending that someone was there.
So if you do watch it in cinemas, it'll be worth remembering that a lot of the effects and costumes you see are actually done by hand.
Joshua Nair