Thirty-six years have passed since the original "Beetlejuice - Little Pig", the 1988 cult film directed by Tim Burton and starring the unforgettable Michael Keaton in the role of the irreverent bio-exorcist ectoplasm from which the title takes its name. Considered among the hundred best American comedies of all time, the franchise had to wait a long time before giving life to a sequel, due to the desire to keep the spirit of the original work intact. And finally, after the creation of an animated series and a musical adaptation that debuted on Broadway, the official sequel "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" is ready to arrive in cinemas on September 6th.

Made possible once again by the cohesive effort between Burton and Keaton, the film marks the return of the American filmmaker after "Dumbo" released in 2019. In addition to the presence of some historical faces, "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" welcomes into its ranks the talent of new interpreters such as that of the young Jenna Ortega, protagonist of the Netflix television series “Wednesday”. In a recent interview with Empire, the director went into more detail about the reasons that made the film possible. First revealing his state of discouragement towards cinema, he stated: «I had actually lost interest in the film industry. I felt I had had enough of the studios, I had enough of all this kind of thing."

The turning point, however, came with the release of the "Wednesday" series, which, in addition to helping him regain his motivation, convinced him to validate the screenplay of the new Beetlejuice co-written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, hitting him deeply with a very close to one's personal past. Speaking specifically about the character of Lydia Deetz, played by Wynona Rider, he said: «Since the first film I identified with Lydia. He was a character that I understood, that I related to a lot. The new film became very personal for me precisely because of the character of Lydia: what happened to Lydia? What happens to people? What happens to all of us? What is your journey from being a weird, gothic teenager to what happens to you 35 years later?”

Still referring to Lydia, Burton further explored the correspondence between his own life experiences and the content of the film: «Sometimes, as you get older, you lose yourself a little. That's just how I feel and have felt. It's a journey, for me who started making films, I make good ones and bad ones, it's like a journey. So that's what made it more important and personal to me, all these feelings. There are relationships that change you, there are children that change you. After all these years, this became the reason to make it. I identified with Lydia then and I identify with her now."

But returning to Michael Keaton, the director did not miss an opportunity to express words of praise towards his close collaborator. In a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly, he stated that - despite the time that had passed - the actor was able to find the character again with a disconcerting speed and naturalness, as if in some way he had never stopped wearing his shoes . Calling his performance “a strange out-of-body experience,” he added: “He just went back to it, it was a bit scary. For me it was wonderful to see the cast in action again, but seeing Michael again in the role... he seemed possessed by a demon."

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