There's a new rumor sweeping across the Neitherworld today. It says that none other than Tim Burton himself has confirmed Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder's return for Beetlejuice 2, which--he's also reported to have said--has also been given the green light by Warner Bros. Not to get your hopes up, but we have yet to hear official confirmation from the studio as to whether or not any of this is true. Even if it's not, at least this comes as a good opportunity to resurrect a discussion about the "ghost with the most."

Back in 1988, Burton's original horror comedy starred Keaton in the title role as an obnoxious and highly quotable "bio-exorcist" whose particular set of skills involved getting rid of pesky living mortals. Recently, rumor site ShowbizSpy reported that they got the following confirmation of Keaton and Ryder's return, as well as the sequel's green light from the studio, from Burton himself:

“The film is a go and has been approved by the Warner Bros. team, we have talked with the cast members we wanted for the film and they are all on board, this includes both Winona and Michael. We have the script in hand everything is in place all we need to do now is get ready to start filming.”

Currently, there's no official announcement one way or the other from Warner Bros., Burton, Keaton, Ryder, or even screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, who is penning the sequel with David Katzenberg.

Throwing some more cold water on the rumor is Fandango and Movies.com Managing Editor Erik Davis:

Update: Courtesy of BMD, we have a bit more back-and-forth on the state of Beetlejuice 2, though it's all a bit murky at the moment. The Independent followed up on the original report and reached out to Burton's reps, who said the following:

"It turns out those eagerly anticipating a Beetlejuice sequel are having to wait a while longer; we received word from Tim Burton's spokesperson who said the following: "I rep Tim Burton and wanted to let you know that Tim did not provide a statement to confirm Beetlejuice 2 as the movie is not in development. Tim’s focus is entirely on Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and developing Dumbo."

ShowbizSpy then amended their original post--albeit a bit snarkily--with the following:

[UPDATE] – A rep has gotten in contact with us and stated “Tim Burton did not confirm Beetlejuice 2 as the movie is not in development. Tim’s focus is entirely on Miss Preegrine’s Home For Peculiar Children set for a September 30 2016 release and developing Dumbo“. That is all fine and we complied with the reps request to post their comment, however we did not say it was in development. We would also like to note thatWarner Bros. hired writers David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith to work on a sequel, and over the past year, both Ryder and Keaton have confirmed their participation according to Variety. So, it would seem there is something fishy going on here. 

We'll keep an ear out for more official confirmation, but in the meantime, take a look at the most recent news on the Beetlejuice sequel here:

• Winona Ryder Says She’s in for BEETLEJUICE 2
• Michael Keaton Talks Career, BIRDMAN, BATMAN, BEETLEJUICE, and More at SBIFF
• Tim Burton Says BEETLEJUICE 2 Script Is “Pretty Good”, Hopes to Speak With Michael Keaton Soon
• Winona Ryder Likely to Return for BEETLEJUICE 2
• Tim Burton in Talks to Direct BEETLEJUICE 2; Michael Keaton Expected to Return