Beetlejuice 3is officially in development at Warner Bros., and there’s only one title the upcoming sequel should use to honor the franchise. The news likely won’t come as a shock to anyone who paid attention toBeetlejuice 2’s box office performance. Aside from nearing half a billion, or $451 million worldwide to be exact, the long-awaited sequel also garnered mostly positive reviews with a 75% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and a slightly higher 79% among audiences.
Ittook 36 years forBeetlejuice 2to happen, though it may have never come to fruition if Tim Burton hadn’t returned to direct after his work on the 1988 original movie. He managed to reunite thecore cast forBeetlejuice 2, including Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, and Catherine O’Hara, all crucial characters who bring something different to the story. The legacy sequel risk was there, butBeetlejuice 3’s confirmationproves that Warner Bros. isn’t looking to wait another few decades before revisiting the franchise again.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Should Be The Only Title Option For Beetlejuice 3
The 2024 Sequel Has Already Set Up The Trilogy Title
Beetlejuice’s official title isBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, which allows for the upcoming sequel to use the most fitting title:Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Saying the term three times is an important aspect of the franchise because it’s how other characters can summon Keaton’s Betelgeuse into the real world or send him back into the afterlife. Due to the rule,Betelgeuse has been known to trick people into saying his name, whereas someone like Lydia goes out of her way to avoid using his name in any form at the risk of his presence.
Perhaps Beetlejuice 3 can finally explain the summoning rule’s origin or why Betelgeuse can’t say his own name.
ConsideringBeetlejuice Beetlejuicewas used for Burton’s sequel, it seems very likely that Warner Bros. was setting up a chance to useBeetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceif the third movie was greenlit. The title is the perfect way to honor a key rule in the franchise, more specifically, one that blends aspects of the living and the dead. That wouldn’t have been the case ifBeetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, the original sequel planned in the ’90s, actually happened. Perhaps Beetlejuice 3 can finally explain the summoning rule’s origin or why Betelgeuse can’t say his own name.
Beetlejuice 3 Should Mark The End Of The Main Story
There Are Other Ways To Explore The Franchise
Now thatBeetlejuice 3is happening, it means thatTim Burton will have his first movie trilogyif he does indeed return to direct the sequel. Even if that’s not the case,Beetlejuice 3should be the last entry in the franchise’s main story, no matter how well the movie performs.Beetlejuice 2was special since it brought Lydia and Betelgeuse back togetherfor a conflict that involved Lydia’s daughter, Astrid. However, the third movie should be the end of the story that heavily involves Betelegeuse and Lydia’s overlapping arc.
That’s not to say theBeetlejuicefranchise needs to end with a third movie.Beetlejuice 3can officially pass the torch to Astrid, allowing for a spinoff movie focused on her supernatural powers and connection to the afterlife that doesn’t involve Betelgeuse. A future project could even lean away from the Deetz family altogether and feature a story mostly set inBeetlejuice’s afterlife setting, which already has a ton of story potential. Either way, ifBeetlejuice 3does well at the box office like the 2024 sequel, Warner Bros. would likely be open to anything that would continue the franchise.
