Dumbo remake to see Tim Burton and Michael Keaton reunite

The Beetlejuice star is currently in talks to play the villain of Disney's upcoming live-action remake of the 1941 classic

Beetlejuice 2 looks no closer to becoming a reality, but at least Michael Keaton and Tim Burton look to be getting the chance to reunite once more.

The pair haven't collaborated since 1992's Batman Returns, yet Variety now reports Keaton is in talks to join the cast of Disney's live-action Dumbo movie, where he'll join a roster of other frequent Burton collaborators, Eva Green and Danny DeVito.

He's set to play the film's main villain, a man who acquires the circus from DeVito's character in order to exploit the titular elephant and its mother.

Colin Farrell is still in negotiations to play the film's lead role Holt, a widowed father of two from Kentucky; though the cast has seen a lot of shifting over the past few months, with both Will Smith and Tom Hanks dropping out of the lead and villain roles respectively.

The film, penned by Transformers writer Ehren Kruger, doesn't sound like particularly tantalising material for Burton to work with - whose recent run of films have often suffered from deep narrative and screenplay issues; with the film's mix of CG and live-action seeing Dumbo fall closely in line with Disney's latest run of remakes, including The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast.

However, with a boost from such reliable Burton collaborators, there's a chance the director will be able to capture the sense of magic his older films have seen him more than capable of.

There's no word on when Disney is hoping to release the film, although the studio is reportedly close to starting production.