Birdman star Michael Keaton will reprise role in Beetlejuice 2, says screenwriter

Seth Grahame-Smith has revealed that the sequel will be set in the present day

Michael Keaton in the 1998 Beetlejuice original (Tribeca Film Festival)

Golden Globe winner Michael Keaton will return for a planned Beetlejuice sequel set in the present day, screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith has said.

The Birdman star, 63, played a “bio-exorcist” who scares away humans so that a ghost couple can continue living in a house in the 1988 original.

Warner Bros has been working on a follow-up for the past three years, with director Tim Burton on board once again.

While progress has been slow, Burton said in December that the film is “closer than ever” to becoming a reality and now, Grahame-Smith has revealed more details to The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie will be a sequel, not a reboot, and the Beetlejuice character will be used sparingly, as suggested by Keaton, who is reportedly “more than interesting” in reprising his role so long as Burton also returns.

Keaton stars as a faded Hollywood big-shot in Birdman, which has received five star reviews across the board and is heavily tipped for Oscars success next month.

Beetlejuice won an Oscar for best make-up in 1989 and also starred Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Jones and a 17-year-old Winona Ryder.