Alec Baldwin Hit 'Beetlejuice' Turns 30: We're Ready for a Sequel

It’s hard to believe, but Tim Burton‘s classic film Beetlejuice turns 30 today. Hollywood has been buzzing about Beetlejuice 2 for a couple years, and though nothing beyond confirmation of a screenplay has come to light, wouldn’t this be a great time to announce it?

The movie, released on March 30, 1988, starred Amagansett’s Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as Adam and Barbara Maitland, a married couple who die in a car accident and can’t seem to scare off the new owners of their home, which they still haunt. Desperate for a solution, the Maitlands call upon Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton, Spider-Man: Homecoming), “the Ghost with the Most,” to help terrify the Deetz family into leaving their beloved house. Betelgeuse, however, isn’t quite what they’d hoped for, and his antics put the living family, including their sensitive daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder, Stranger Things)—who can see Adam and Barbara—in mortal danger.

Watch the original trailer below.

Back in October, Deadline reported that a screenplay for Beetlejuice 2 does in fact exist, and Mike Vukadinovich (Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Marvel’s Runaways) had been tapped for a rewrite at Warner Bros. The project, which is nowhere near going into production, would definitely pair Burton and Keaton again, and both have expressed enthusiasm about the idea, though both have yet to officially get on board.

No word on whether or not Baldwin, Davis or Ryder would also appear.

A great idea for the movie, in our opinion, would center on Ryder’s character Lydia, who would now be working as a psychic medium. After years of successful work, her old nemesis Betelgeuse returns to cause mischief and mayhem, and only she can stop him. Perhaps she’d even be the person to call him forth—”Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse”—after getting involved in a situation that couldn’t otherwise be resolved?

It’s also possible Lydia and Betelgeuse could work together. Fox cast the characters as unlikely allies in the Beetlejuice animated series, which lasted four seasons, from 1989 to 1991.

If you haven’t seen Beetlejuice—one of Baldwin’s early greats—make sure to watch it this weekend in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary. It all holds up quite well, even after three decades.