Thirty six years after Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton reteams with director Tim Burton to play ‘Beetlejuice’, an afterlife ghost and “bio-exorcist” who wants to marry someone from the realm of the living, in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The film brings back Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara and introduces new actors, including Wednesday star Jenna Ortega. It is now playing in theatres. A chat with Keaton.

Why do you think Beetlejuice has become such a touchstone in pop culture?

I still don’t understand it! I have said this a thousand times, but it is true — it is unique. There is no such thing as ‘really unique’ or ‘very unique’. It is something that is either unique or not.

Beetlejuice is unique. It is 100 per cent original. I have always described it as a piece of art. You could almost grab the movie and, if you could, hang it somewhere. But it is also kind of timeless and must touch things in people. People were drawn to this really unusual visual treat because a lot of it is the visuals and the visual jokes. It is interesting how people react so positively to pure imagination from Tim (Burton). Just pure imagination. No one ever saw anything like that.

There are only a handful of creative partnerships in this business that yield the kind of off-the-charts imaginative results that your work with Tim Burton has — bringing Batman to the big screen in an entirely new way, and giving life to a never-before-seen character in Beetlejuice. What is your dynamic with Tim like, and how has it changed over the years?

I am going to start with an overused word, which is the appropriate word... and that is ‘special’. Because it just is. I can’t analyse it; I can’t really break it down for you. The interesting thing with Tim and I is that there are parts of us where we are very unalike, and then there are parts of us where we are very much alike. There are parts of our personality where I don’t have the same thing or feeling that he does, but I have a type of it. It is not the same kind. But I relate enough to that and I relate enough to accepting that there are people who see the world how they see it… and I think, in fact, the advantage to us is we are similar.

Then it comes down to something simple, which is respect. I have such respect for artistes, and I try to align myself with that headspace and that vision. The respect he showed and the credit he deserves when he chose me as Batman… people never understood that, and he stood by it and said: ‘No, I see it in this guy.’ We also had a very nice working relationship from Beetlejuice. The vibe between us is good. It is that simple.

What aligned to make Beetlejuice Beetlejuice come together?

Tim and I thought there was no reason to return until we figured out what we thought we should do. We would get on the phone and talk about it, every now and then. But the agreement we had was that if we ever did it, it couldn’t be overwhelmed by technology. I don’t think a lot of people consciously know why they like Beetlejuice, but I keep coming back to the expression “handmade”— because it literally was handmade. But I think, clearly, the story had to be there, and this story is even stronger, if you ask me. Tim really trusted the story. And Jenna (Ortega), Winona (Ryder) and Catherine (O’Hara) drive the story. You will love the whole experience… and Beetlejuice is just a fun thing in it.

You got back together with Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder for this, but you also have amazing new performers in this film. Can you about working with Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and Justin Theroux?

I don’t think Tim and I were interested in doing it without Winona, and we sure weren’t interested in doing it without Catherine. Jenna got it from the get-go... it fit her like a glove. That is a credit to her, because it is not easy to step into something that is already in motion, jump on and fit right in.

That first cast was terrific. This cast is at least that good, and we had the opportunity to improve things with certain characters. The introduction of Willem’s character is so fun to watch, and Justin is just hysterical. This cast is as good as the first one, and maybe better.

I think Willem’s Wolf Jackson is a great foil for Beetlejuice, too. I suggested that he and I should partner and do a buddy movie together, within the world of Tim’s mind.

Audiences have been waiting for 36 years to see Beetlejuice back on the big screen, in this new way. What is the experience going to be like for them?

I think the great thing that Tim pulled off — and hopefully we all pulled off — is you get all the stuff from the first one, and then some. So, for people who are unfamiliar with it — and there aren’t that many — it is a really fun, fresh look at it, to see it for the first time. And for all the people who are big fans — and there are many, obviously — they get all the great old stuff, the feeling, the same exact vibe, the same exact aesthetic and then more.

 Courtesy: Warner Bros