Movies News Talk
Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder will cross paths in Beetlejuice 2, and their hinted narrative seems to be a callback to another Tim Burton project from the late '80s. With Keaton's bio-exorcist and Ryder's Lydia back in the forefront, the much awaited sequel is finally on the horizon 36 years after Burton's first film. With fellow Deetz family members involved as well as Beetlejuice's wife, the narrative of Beetlejuice 2 will be rather of a family affair. Although the new Beetlejuice 2 cast members are interesting, most of the buzz comes from Beetlejuice and Lydia's reunion.
An animated spinoff show was ordered after Beetlejuice's 1988 release and debuted on ABC in September 1989. Mostly concentrating on the bio-exorcist con man and Lydia, the cartoon also titled Beetlejuice was But in the TV version modeled on the film, Beetlejuice and Lydia were more like friends embarking on shared adventures. Though they aren't portrayed as "friends" in the live-action version, Beetlejuice 2's hinted team-up between Beetlejuice and Lydia certainly seems like it will mirror the basis of the animated series to some degree.
Though "The Ghost with the Most" was more of a prankster in the Beetlejuice cartoon, she posed little threat as depicted in the film. Apart from experiences in the domain of the living, the pair would travel the Neitherworld, so providing more understanding of the domain. That will also be relevant in Beetlejuice 2 since several fascinating investigations of facets of the Neitherworld not shown in the first film have been undertaken. Given Burton executive created the animated show, some of those components could even make the leap into the sequel.
While delving further into the backgrounds of each character, the Beetlejuice show presented an array of others to the franchise. Though clearly on show in 1988's Beetlejuice, the Deetz family members were able to develop Lydia's character outside of the film. The same could be said of Beetlejuice, whose family made appearances including his brother, Donny Juice, Bea Juice and Nat Juice, as well as his parents. Showing just how different their dynamic was in the brief run, Beetlejuice and Lydia even shared a sentient car called Doomie.
Over September 1989 and December 1991, the Beetlejuice cartoon ran 94 episodes overall. Though the show only ran for a little over two years, technically it ran for four seasons. There is still no compelling explanation for why the cartoon stopped even though it was still rather popular. Originally airing on ABC as part of the Saturday morning cartoon schedule, Beetlejuice episodes were sold to Fox and began to broadcast in September 1991. This meant that two competing networks were running Beetlejuice episodes, a very rare occurrence even now.
Though Beetlejuice and Lydia team up in the sequel, their relationship will still be very different from that of the animated series. The show changed the odd romantic dynamic between Beetlejuice and Lydia since the cartoon aimed to young viewers as part of children's programming. Their relationship on the show was more innocent, while Beetlejuice was nothing more than a creep and wanted to wed Lydia in the original film. Lydia actually searched for Beetlejuice on the show, and they really cared for one another in a familial manner.
Based on Lydia's ongoing desire in marriage, Beetlejuice might still be pining for her; but, given their dynamic will probably veers more into the animated show this time around. Lydia embracing working with Keaton's character would make their movie combination more interesting. Depending on whether their team-up saves Astrid and stops any more drama emerging from the Neitherworld, Lydia and Beetlejuice might even grow close by the end of Beetlejuice 2.