Michael Keaton says merchandise of his ‘Beetlejuice’ character was “fucking weird”

Michael Keaton has admitted that seeing his character from Beetlejuice being merchandised was “fucking weird”.

The actor is due to return as the character Betelgeuse in upcoming sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, having originated the role in the 1988 Tim Burton classic.

Speaking in a new interview about getting back into character, especially given his wider pop cultural recognition since the first film was released, Keaton explained that he went back to basics.

“There’s been so much merchandising of it, I had to drop back to where it started,” he told Empire.

“I had to go, ‘What was my unusual imagination even thinking about when I was developing it in the first place?’ As opposed to seeing a coffee mug or a golf-club cover [adorned with Betelgeuse’s face].”

He elaborated: “That was fucking weird. To be honest with you – I’m being very frank – it was off-putting, to look and go, ‘I don’t want to look like all these little things, fuck that – what was the thing that started this?’”

Teasing the sequel further, Keaton said of the film: “I love it. I absolutely love this thing. And I don’t [usually] talk like that. I unabashedly love this. It was not easy to pull off, and I think we did it in spades.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will see Burton return as director, as well as Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz and Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz, with the story set 40 years after the events of the first film.

Jenna Ortega joins the franchise as Lydia’s daughter Astrid, while Monica Bellucci plays Beetlejuice’s wife and Willem Dafoe is on board as ghost detective Wolf Jackson.

The film, which has been in the pipeline for many years and was confirmed in 2022, is due for release on September 6, with production last year delayed slightly due to the Hollywood strikes.