It's a sad state of affairs that Burton has made a new Beetlejuice movie "finally" and that I can hardly be bothered to care. I have extreme adoration for many of his earlier works (as anyone else who is cool and knows what's-what has) but his output of I Dunno How Many Years has failed to keep any kindling of interest of what he's up to, even when it is an IP with essentially infinite possibility such as this. I'm not trying to sound judgey, there is so much more that goes into the creation of a film (or piece of cinematic art, to be precise) and I don't blame a particular artist for "no longer failing to provide just exactly what I want" but Burton has always been in a class by himself, for better and worse. He's had such a range of delivery (some of the most influential work ever put to screen) but he's also just settled into "pretty safe production matching his brand." I could never fault him for that, and the timelessness of the work he's done - that I HAVE loved - will forever be worthy in spite of whatever he's made (plenty) that I've cared little-to-none about.
That all being said - I'm a pretty dyed-in-the-wool variety of nerd who has endless love for his work on Pee Wee, Batman, Beetlejuice (first one), Mars Attacks, and will forever hold him in exceptional regard for those films alone. If he ever made one more piece of cinema that could hold a candle to any of those (in my eyes) I would absolutely embrace them as I did those films. But when I heard he was doing a Beetlejuice sequel after all this time, would I have any expectations at all? Hmm it is going to be made as any film in 2024 would, and that means tons of CG (I don't hate CG, I am a 3D artist). Yeah that's cool if Keaton is back reprising a beloved role but what would that look like in the VERY different political environment we live in, in the modern day? Never mind how honestly out-of-place his whole portrayal in the Flash movie felt? (He did a fine job, as well as could be expected, but it was completely edited to shit and all the action involving the character looked and felt so.. WRONG). So do I really want or need any more of that?
The potential for a new Beetlejuice movie in 2024 is of course huge, the IP is rich, the characters are compelling and beautiful. I am not gonna have any expectations other than what I have just ranted on about, but there's always the chance for a pleasant surprise. I will wait until the dust clears & the hype blows over, to hear if a movie like this is something for me, or just another flash in the pan to come and go.
