Beetlejuice 2: Why Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse Only Appears for 17 Minutes – Co-Writer Explains

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice co-screenwriter Miles Miller explains why Michael Keaton's Beetlejuice only appears for a limited time in Tim Burton's original 1988 movie the titula character has only 17 minutes of screen time during which he wears his iconic striped suit for Just 2 minutes that approach of keeping Beetlejuice as a side character did not change for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with Keen appearing for a similar amount of time speaking with variety alongside his screenwriting partner Alfred G Miller explained why Beetle Jews has such limited screen time in the sequel he initially reminded audiences that Beetle Jews is not the movie's main character and noted that it was challenging to know exactly when to highlight the titular bio Exorcist and how to find a balance between him and the movie's main characters despite Beetle Jews having a more significant presence in the sequel story Tim Burton along with goffen Miller maintained that Beetlejuice is not the main character Beetlejuice Beetlejuice does Prov provide a backstory for the bio Exorcist explaining how he died at the hands of his ex-wife Dolores Monica beluchi who has been brought back to life however this backstory does not detract from the sequel's main protagonists the sequel primarily focuses on Lydia D Winona Ryder relationship with her stepmother dilia Katherine O'Hara and her teenage daughter ASD Jenna Ortega who does not believe in the Supernatural Lydia is still experiencing trauma from her encounter with beetlejus in the original movie however beetlejus takes a back seat while events unfold in the afterlife and he only reappears later in the film when astred finds herself in trouble it is only at this point that Lydia calls Beetle ju's name three times hoping he can fix her family's predicament even then Beetle juw does not overshadow the central relationship between Lydia and her daughter which remains at the Forefront of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice despite the title suggesting double the beetlejus his screen time remains consistent with the original even though it may seem like he plays a larger role in the sequel