Michael Keaton's return as Batman in The Flash is exciting but not as exciting as his potential return as Beetlejuice for Tim Burton's belated sequel. Both Keaton and Winona Ryder will return for Beetlejuice 2 according to reports, bringing an end to the sequel's extended stay in development hell. And while Keaton's Batman may be his best performance for some, it's Beetlejuice that really should be considered his best work.
A plan for Beetlejuice 2 was initially set in 1990, with Jonathan Gems hired to make a comedy called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian that would have married German expressionism with the surfing scene. Quite why anyone entertained that terrible idea is unclear, but by 1997, the sequel was already dead. That didn't kill the appeal of the character though, with the animated Beetlejuice spin-off bringing in new fans and the 2018 stage musical led to an army of even more rabid fans. And now, more than 30 years after Tim Burton made the cult classic comedy, Keaton is set to rise from Beetlejuice's grave once more.
Keaton's performance as Beetlejuice was so good that it's impossible not to get incredibly excited by the prospect of more. And while the same can be said of Keaton's Batman return in The Flash, the specifics are very different. An older Batman fundamentally changes everything about the character's dynamic: with the reveal of Robin, his supporting role in The Flash, and his second return in Batgirl point towards him being more of a mentor figure. Clearly, if Keaton's Bruce Wayne is wearing the cowl and cape, he's a hero, but an older hero presents its own challenges, which an older Beetlejuice simply wouldn't. Keaton's Dark Knight may be blunter, more removed from the action, and draw far more from the old Batman of the comics. Keaton's Beetlejuice, on the other hand, will be exactly the same, in-universe, and that's incredibly exciting.
Why Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice Return Is More Exciting Than Batman
Keaton also has the benefit of heavy make-up for his Beetlejuice 2 return, which will be necessary given the character is undead and should appear exactly the same as he did 30 years ago. Deaging technology may even need to be called upon, but it's logical to assume that all efforts will be made to ensure Beetlejuice could have been picked up out of his original movie and brought to the modern day. And the best thing about Beetlejuice's story continuing is that Michael Keaton's performance in Beetlejuice was truly revolutionary in a way that he's almost spent his career trying to avoid since. Yes, there's an inherent strangeness to a lot of Keaton's best movie performances, including his Bruce Wayne, but his performances tend to lean into hiding and hinting at it. It's what made his Wayne so captivating. With Tim Burton's Beetlejuice 2, Keaton will be able to go as over-the-top as he wants, and as strange as Burton wants.
Michael Keaton's Batman return is incredibly exciting, of course, but the idea of the Oscar winner getting to play with his most outrageous character again is irresistible. There are other concerns for Beetlejuice 2, like whether Tim Burton can buck the downward trend of his recent movies, and if the story can justify the sequel's existence, but the biggest selling point is Keaton's return and the chance to see him opposite Winona Ryder again. Presumably the story will require her to have moved on from her happy haunting with Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis' Adam and Barbara, but somehow calling back Beetlejuice ensures at least he will be just as compelling as he was in 1988.