Beetlejuice 2 feels like a threat. The original is a classic and director Tim Burton was in his prime. But almost thirty years later Burton has lapsed into self-parody, and even though star Michael Keaton is likely to reprise the title character and his career is experiencing a resurgence, that may not be enough to make the ghost with the most more than anything than an easy cash-in.

The project has been in development hell for years, but even back in 2013, Winona Ryder, who played Lydia in the original, said she was likely to return. Last night on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Ryder reiterated that she was coming back for the sequel [via STYD]:

“I think I can confirm it because Tim Burton did this interview,” Ryder told Meyers. “It was very hush-hush, top secret, ‘I don’t know what may happen, I don’t know,’ and then he was doing some press for ‘Big Eyes’ and he did an on-camera interview and he said, ‘Oh yeah, we’re doing it and Winona’s gonna be in it.’ So can I say…? I mean if he said it. But I really don’t know much more than anybody else.”

Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) worked on the script, and said earlier this year that he hopes Beetlejuice 2 will be Burton’s next movie after Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which has wrapped production and opens in March. However, Burton is also attached to a live-action adaptation of Dumbo, so pick your poison.


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Image via Warner Bros.