Warning: Spoilers ahead for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!Despite being a critical factor in Beetlejuice 2Michael Keaton’s villainous Betelgeuse character was not given any special treatment in Tim Burton’s sequel. Betelgeuse, often referred to by the name “Beetlejuice,” was one of the core characters in Beetlejuice 2Along with Winona Ryder’s Lydia and Catherine O’Hara’s Delia. Keaton’s Betelgeuse was sent back to the afterlife during the original Beetlejuices ending, but he was reunited with members of the Deetz family after the sudden death of Charles brought them back to Winter River.
Lydia never quite recovered from her first encounter with the “spirit with the most” as a teenager. However, she was forced to turn to Betelgeuse for help when her teenage daughter, Astrid, was caught up in a dangerous plot involving a murderous ghost named Jeremy. Even a reluctant team-up and successful rescue mission didn’t really change Betelgeuse from being the agent of chaos like in the first movie. A lot happened in between Beetlejuice And Beetlejuice 2, But oddly enough, one interesting aspect of BeetlejuiceThe main villain remained the same.
Beetlejuice 2 repeats Michael Keaton’s 17 minutes of screen time from the original movie
The original Beetlejuice movie featured less of Keaton than most viewers remember
Michael Keaton could have played the titular character in 1988’s beetlejuice, But the actor was never the real lead, at least not in terms of screen time. Keaton’s Betelgeuse is only 17 minutes into the original BeetlejuiceWhich may come as a surprise to many, considering how much of a driving force he still is to the movie’s legacy. interesting enough, Beetlejuice 2 Also gave Keaton 17 minutes of screen time, and no, that’s not a coincidence.
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Writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough were well aware of Betelgeuse’s limited appearance in 1988, and the pair wanted to follow that approach for the long-awaited sequel. While recognizing that Betelgeuse”Must be essential to the movie” The Beetlejuice 2 Writers knew that flooding the sequel with Keaton’s character would not be the correct approach. Instead, they focused on quality over quantity, admitting that they wanted to keep “The magic trick” of Betelgeuse living by fooling viewers into feeling like the character was more than the screen time suggested.
Why keeping Betelgeuse’s screen time limited is the right move in Beetlejuice 2
The Beetlejuice movies follow a horror villain trend
The screen time approach to Betelgeuse worked for the 1988 movie, keeping Michael Keaton in the limited role for Beetlejuice 2 was another genius move. It took Beetlejuice 2 It will take place almost 36 years, so it’s understandable to think that character characters, especially someone like Betelgeuse, would get the most screen time. instead, The sequel proved just how important it is to savor the character’s presence by giving Betelgeuse a more notable impact on the story in short bursts Compared to if he is constantly involved. Smaller doses also allowed for high-energy sequences and some of Beetlejuice 2s best gags.
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The “less is more” approach is certainly not new, especially when you look back at noteworthy movie villains and the horror genre in general. It’s almost like a villain like Halloweens Michael Myers or the shark of Jaws Being a threat but not ruining the villain’s impact by killing the intrigue with too much direct screen time. Returning figures were an enticing element of Beetlejuice 2With anticipation surrounding Keaton’s reprise of his Betelgeuse role. That said, even Keaton used his limited Beetlejuice 2 screen time as a condition for his return, believing that too much of the bio-exorcist would become “Very tired.“