Mike Vukadinovich will rewrite Beetlejuice 2 at Warner Brothers, a project that has been long gestating as a re-pairing of Tim Burton and Michael Keaton. No deals are anywhere near done with Burton or Keaton but reportedly the two — who are currently working on Dumbo at Disney — have been excited at the thought of collaborating on a sequel. Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg of KatzSmith Productions would produce this one.
The original Beetlejuice was directed by Burton in 1988 and has become a cult favorite. In fact, it was recently re-released and is playing in two theaters in Los Angeles now. Released by Warner Bros., the fantasy comedy starred Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as ghosts who haunt their old home. When a little girl (Winona Ryder) accidentally unleashes a mischievous ghost (Keaton), the ghosts try to drive the homeowners (Catherine O’Hara and Jeffrey Jones) out of the house.
Vukadinovich’s most recent film work is Rememory, a science-fiction drama that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was acquired by Lionsgate. Based on his original screenplay, that project stars Peter Dinklage and Julie Ormond. He also wrote Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, based on the Disneyland ride, for Disney with Justin Springer producing and Pete Candeland attached to direct. We see that he also wrote for the upcoming season of Marvel’s Runaways for Hulu, ABC Studios, and Josh Schwartz, and co-wrote the pilot Horrorstory with Josh Schwartz at Fox, and Gail Berman and Charlie Kaufman executive producing.
