The article contains some spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuicewriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar opened up about how the Ghost with the Most’s surprising origin story came to exist. The 2024 sequel sees Michael Keaton’s bio-exorcist continue to haunt the Deetz family, but Lydia (Winona Ryder) is forced to call upon him for help. The movie eventually unraveledBeetlejuice’s backstory and what led to his own death. With Monica Belucci playing Betelgeuse’s ex-wife Delores,Keaton’s ghost explains their short-lived marriagein the style of a black-and-white Italian horror movie explaining their deaths.
In an interview withVariety, theBeetlejuice Beetlejuicewriters opened upabout diving into the character’s unexplored past. While the pair simply extrapolated on his dialogue from the first movie where he detailed his living origins during the Black Plague,the stylistic depiction was contributed by director Tim Burton and inspired by director Federico Fellini. Check out Gough and Millar’s full explanation below:
Alfred Gough:We knew he was old, so we were like, ‘Oh, that’s the era he would exist in. It was actually Tim’s idea to be like, ‘Let’s do it all in Italian!”
Miles Millar:“I think he said it’s like the prologue to a Fellini movie."
Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceIs A Showcase Of Tim Burton’s Filmmaking Inspirations
Burton’s Influences Are Rooted In Early 20th-Century Cinema
Burton’s appreciation of Fellini is well-recorded long beforeBeetlejuice Beetlejuicebegan development. Like Burton, Fellini is credited with creating some of the most visually astounding spectacles of his era,leading to “Fellinian” being used to describe pieces of cinemathat had extravagance. As such, it is unsurprising that the Italian director’s style of filmmaking would be incorporated into the movie by its resident pop-culture-referring spirit as a tribute to the director’s influences.
From the elongated corridors of the afterlife to the make-up choices of its cast, his fantastical world is rooted in the early 20th-century art movement’s surreal depictions to tackle difficult discussion.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceis also a strong depiction of Burton’s other theatrical influences. Alongside the classic horror inspirations behind the many ghouls occupying Burton’s world, the visually stunning German Expressionist influences are on full display throughout the movie’s production design. From the elongated corridors of the afterlife to the make-up choices of its cast, his fantastical world is rooted in the early 20th-century art movement’s surreal depictions to tackle difficult discussion. In particular,Beetlejuiceestablishes a line between the ordinary and the afterlife.
Every Major Dead Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Character & How They Died
Here’s how every deceased major character who appears in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice met their end, both in the mortal realm and in the afterlife.
With a storied career of visually detailed movies that helped shape Hollywood, many audiences familiar with Burton’s history will appreciate his embrace of diving into one of his most beloved character’s past. While Betelgeuse’s origin inBeetlejuice Beetlejuicewas not expected, its stylistic approach, while remaining within the character’s wise-cracking, referencing nature, added a distinct tragic element to the tale. As such, Betelgeuse and Delores' whirlwind romance is one of the sequel’s standout moments.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
