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Seeing Michael Keaton return as Beetlejuice (spelled “Betelgeuse”) in Tim Burton’s sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — oops, that’s three times! — is only the most recent dream come true a lifelong fan of the actor (like me) has witnessed as of late. Just last year, the Academy Award nominee made an epic return as Batman in The Flash, which we also could have seen in the Batgirl movie, had it been released.
Anyway, now that two of the most iconic roles from the best Michael Keaton movies have returned, I am curious if there are other fun characters from the beloved actor’s filmography he might be willing to revisit. Before you check out Beetlejuice Beetlejuice when it hits theaters on September 6th, let’s take a look back at some of the other roles that made us fall in love with Keaton and envision a way to see them come back for another round.
Bill Blazejowski (Night Shift)
Here’s an interesting fact about Michael Keaton: according to GoldenGlobes.com, the actor played Bruce Springsteen’s “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” to prepare for the role of Bill Blazejowski in Night Shift. The 1982 movie, directed by Ron Howard, sees the fast-talking late night morgue attendant team-up with his new colleague, Chuck (Henry Winkler), to be “love brokers” and make sure a group of female sex workers get partnered with more deserving clients.
“Billy Blaze” is the role that introduced the world to Keaton’s fast-paced comedic talents and made him into a movie star. So, I say Hollywood should return the favor by giving him a spin-off movie that sees the “ideas man” struggling to pursue his various inventive concepts, such as eliminating garbage by making paper edible.
Jack Butler (Mr. Mom)
Following his scene-stealing supporting role in Night Shift, Keaton landed his first leading role in a motion picture with Mr. Mom in 1983. In the hit comedy from writer John Hughes, his character, Jack Butler, loses his job, convincing him to become a stay-at-home dad to his kids, Alex, Kenny, and Megan, while his wife, Caroline (Teri Garr), returns to the workforce.
A direct follow-up to this kind of story seems unlikely, especially more than four decades later, but I have an idea that might work that I call Mr. Grandma. It would follow Jack teaming up with Alex, Kenny, and Megan’s husband to take care of his grandchildren while their spouses all go on a girls’ trip. I genuinely believe if done right, this could be a beautiful family story about passing the torch between parent and child and accepting responsibilities you are not used to.
Johnny Dangerously (Johnny Dangerously)
Keaton’s next leading role in a comedy was the title character of 1984’s Johnny Dangerously, from director Amy Heckerling. It is a vastly underrated and uproariously funny spoof movie that sends up old-time gangster flicks from cinema’s golden age, which is why it is set primarily in the 1930s.
This means that a sequel would have to be set in the 1970s and I think that would be a perfect time to see Johnny’s return. It could involve him watching one of the all-time greatest gangster movies, The Godfather, which has a deeply misguided effect on him to return to the mob lifestyle and become involved in the New York drug trade, only to realize that things are not as easy or glamorous as they seemed in his heyday.
Doug Kinney (Multiplicity)
Following his return to roles from the live-action Batman movies and the Beetlejuice cast, press outlets have also been asking Keaton what other sequels he would like to do. His answer has been a follow-up to to Multiplicity.
Harold Ramos directed the 1996 sci-fi comedy in which Keaton’s overworked family man, Doug, decides to have himself duplicated so he can have more time to himself but the situation quickly gets out of control. The original ended with Doug’s clones, Lance, Rico, and Lenny, opening up a pizzeria together, so it might be fun to check in with them and see the four identical guys reunite.
Ray Nicolette (Jackie Brown, Out Of Sight)
One of the few Quentin Tarantino movies that exist outside of Tarantino’s shared universe is 1997’s Jackie Brown, which actually exists in the same world as Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight from 1998. The main connective tissue between is the character named Ray Nicolette, played by Keaton.
If the actor was willing to play the cool ATF agent in two movies back to back, I do not see why he would not be up for a third. Apparently, the character does not appear in any other Elmore Leonard stories but if someone could craft another cool mystery thriller that involves Ray, or is even centered around him, that might be a lot of fun.
Chick Hicks (Cars)
Keaton has lent his voice to a few of the best Pixar movies, including Toy Story 3 as Ken and 2006’s Cars as Chick Hicks. Maybe it is my bias as a Keaton fan talking, but I am honestly surprised that Lightning McQueen’s racing rival did not show up in the second film and did not have a larger part in the third installment.
If they were to ever make a fourth Cars movie or brought back Disney+’s Cars on the Road, it would be fun to see more of Chick, and to actually hear him voiced by Keaton this time. The actor was replaced by Bob Peterson in Cars 3 due to scheduling conflicts with Spider-Man: Homecoming, which brings me to my final proposal…
Adrian Toomes (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Keaton’s performance in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming made Vulture of the best Spider-Man movie villains and is essential reason why the film is considered one of the greatest Spider-Man movies yet. So, I think I speak for many people when I say we want more of Adrian Tomes on the big screen.
How Keaton’s sinister but sympathetic version of the Vulture could be brought back into the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies does not really matter much to me. My only hope is that his next appearance is handled more delicately than his nonsensical Morbius cameo.
Another character I considered comes from my personal favorite Michael Keaton movie, 2014’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). However, I could not think of a way to bring Riggan Thomson back that would properly honor the ambiguous ending to the Best Picture Oscar winner. Then again, seeing Keaton put on the Cape and Cowl again and bring his “ghost with the most” back might be all we need, after all.