‘Beetlejuice’ Could Be Coming Back as a Sequel, Not a Prequel, Remake or Reboot

Most moviegoers probably recognize only a handful of production company names. Imagine is Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, Bad Robot is J.J. Abrams, and Scott Free is Ridley and Tony Scott. The guys behind KatzSmith, who just signed a deal with Warner Bros., hope they'll soon be in that kind of company thanks to one of their first big potential projects: a sequel to "Beetlejuice."

Deadline spoke with David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith about their new WB deal, their filmmaking philosophy, blah blah blah. But easily the most noteworthy project they've got in the hopper is a follow-up film to the Tim Burton horror-comedy that opened on April Fool's Day 1988. There aren't any details beyond the fact that it will be "advancing the storyline of the original," but it's an appropriate film for these guys to tackle: After all, Grahame-Smith is the author of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" and "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter." So he knows how to mix his horror with other genres.

But while the possibility of "Beetlejuice 2" will grab the most headlines -- and inspire a certain amount of groans, no doubt -- KatzSmith actually have other in-development projects that sound as interesting. They've got "We Three Kings," which will be based on the novel Grahame-Smith is writing right now that's advertised as a revisionist tale on the Three Wise Men. And then there's "Night of the Living," a stop-motion project about a town of kindly monsters invaded by humans. Who knows if or when any of these will see the light of day, but you have to like their chances: Katzenberg's dad is Jeffrey Katzenberg. Even if they were just wanting to make "Apollo 18" sequels, you'd have to assume people would return his calls for that reason alone.

KatzSmith Duo Makes First-Look Warner Bros Deal; Will Bring 'Beetlejuice' Back From Dead [Deadline]