Michael Keaton: Beetlejuice 2 will be made 'as close' as possible to the original

Michael Keaton says the new 'Beetlejuice' movie will be made like the first flick.

The 71-year-old actor is reprising his role as the titular ghost in the sequel to Tim Burton's 1988 supernatural comedy, and he has revealed he and the legendary filmmaker agreed to make it "as close" as they can to the original.

He told Empire: "'Beetlejuice' is the most f***ing fun you can have working. It's so fun. It's so great. And you know what it is? We're doing it exactly like we did the first movie.

"There's a woman in the great waiting room for the afterlife literally with a fishing line - I want people to know this because I love it - tugging on the tail of a cat to make it move.

"[Burton] and I were talking about it years and years ago, never telling anybody. I said, 'If it happens' - first of all, we've both said we're doing it many times. We both agreed, 'If it happens, it has to be done as close to the way we made it the first time.'"

He added: "Making stuff up, making stuff happen, improvising and riffing, but literally handmade stuff like people creating things with their hands and building something. F***ing great. It's the most fun I've had working on a movie in I can't tell you how long."

Michael's update comes after Willem Dafoe joined the cast.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 67-year-old star will play a law enforcement officer in the afterlife.

The new movie features a combination of both original and fresh cast members with Winona Ryder also reprising the part of Lydia Deetz.

'Wednesday' actress Jenna Ortega has been cast as Lydia's daughter, Monica Bellucci is to play Beetlejuice's wife and Justin Theroux is to feature in a role that is not yet known.

Production on the project is underway in the UK ahead of a September 2024 release date.

The original movie was a critical and commercial hit and told the story of a couple of ghosts who enlist a spirit named Beetlejuice to help them rid their home of its new inhabitants.

Composer Danny Elfman - who will be reunited with long-term collaborator Burton on the sequel - recently suggested that Michael "won't look much different" as the character despite more than three decades having passed since the original movie.

He told Deadline: "I said, ‘He’s not even going to look that much different. That’s the beauty of the 'Beetlejuice' make-up. He already looked like he was 150 in the first one.'

"It’s perfect, you know? Everybody else has to play the next generation, except for Michael. I mean, he’s still like really fit and really active and really on it.

"And with the 'Beetlejuice' make-up, I can’t even imagine it’s going to look like he’s changed practically at all. So, I can’t wait for that."