AwardsWatch Podcast Ep. 251 – ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Review and Our Favorite (and Least Favorite) Legacy Sequels with Guests Karen Peterson and Cody Dericks

On episode 251 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by AwardsWatch contributors Karen Peterson and Cody Dericks to discuss Tim Burton’s latest film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and talk about some of the favorite (and least favorite) “legacy sequels.”

While everyone is making their way back from Venice and Telluride, and others are in Toronto for TIFF, the new release of the week spark a surprise hit at the box office, and a return to form for its director, Tim Burton. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a legacy sequel to the 1988 cult classic, took in close to $145 million at the worldwide box office after premiering to a mostly positive reception out of Venice just two weeks ago. The team break down the film, how it fits in with the original, Keaton’s performance, the evolution of the existing characters alongside the addition of new one, and what Burton should do next.

After talk about Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, they transitioned to talking about the “legacy sequel,” which is a film that follows the continuity of the original movie(s), but takes place further along the timeline and focuses on new characters with the original ones still existing in the new story. Sometimes the film can even follow the same formula as the original film, just adding in new special effects or characters to make the audience feel like they are witnessing this world for the first time; essentially a nostalgia bomb. While these don’t always work, there are some that are an exception to the rule, as Ryan, Karen, and Cody discuss when they talked about films like Top Gun: Maverick, Creed, Doctor Sleep, The Color of Money, Before Sunset, Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mary Poppins Returns, and more, including some legacy sequels that frustrate them like the recent Scream and Indiana Jones films.

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This podcast runs 2h05m. We will be back next week to do another AW Oscar Retrospective episode about the 47^th Academy Awards, covering the films of 1974. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).