It’s difficult to think of cinema without Tim Burton’s unique films, yet we came close to that reality.
The iconic director is known for a plethora of classics, ranging from the 1989 Batman to The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton has practically made Halloween synonymous with his name.
Autumn wouldn’t be the same without a Tim Burton film on our screens. As he gears up for the release of the eagerly awaited Beetlejuice sequel, titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Burton has taken time to reflect on his past works.
In an interview with Variety, Burton revealed that one particular film nearly made him consider stepping away from directing. Can you guess which one?
It wasn’t Planet of the Apes, but Disney’s 2019 live-action remake of Dumbo.
“Honestly, after Dumbo I really didn’t know,” Burton told Variety. “I thought that could have been it, really. I could have retired, or become…well, I wouldn’t have become an animator again, that’s over,” he said with a laugh.
“Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit,” he added. “This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit.”
The five years between Dumbo’s release and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice mark the longest hiatus Burton has taken from releasing a film. He explained the break to Variety, saying, “It felt like there was a change around the time of COVID where everything was just in flux.”
“And so, rather than get caught up in that, I just worked on my own feelings and things,” he added. The director shared that it was Netflix’s Wednesday that reignited his creative spark after Dumbo and the pandemic.
“Wednesday came along. That reconnected me to making things. We went off to Romania and it felt like it was a creative health camp. It went so well,” he shared.
The highly anticipated Beetlejuice sequel will see Michael Keaton return as the iconic character, with Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara also reprising their roles as the Deetz family.
The original cast is joined by new stars including Willem Dafoe, Jenna Ortega, Monica Bellucci, and Justin Theroux.
The sequel is set to make its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 28, before hitting theaters on September 6.