Beetlejuice: Warner Bros. Wanted To Retitle Tim Burton's Film - & Thankfully Didn't

Without question, one of the most successful director-composer partnerships in film history is the dynamic duo of Tim Burton and Danny Elfman, who have collaborated on 19 projects beginning with "Pee-wee's Big Adventure" in 1985. Now, the two will reunite once again on the upcoming 2024 supernatural comedy "Beetlejuice 2," sporting the return of original cast members like Winona RiderCatherine, O'Hara, and Michael Keaton — whose had some of the most fun on the film set. And while the title could conceivably change before the film's release, there's no doubt that the name of Michael Keaton's character will remain in the title's spotlight.

The interesting part about the first "Beetlejuice" before Warner Bros. released the film in 1988 was the studio wanted to release it under a different title. In an interview with GQ where Elfman discusses his most memorable collaborations with Burton, the composer recalled, "The studio tried to rename the movie 'House Ghost' when it came out, cause they said, 'No one will come and see a movie called "Beetlejuice." It's too complicated. Sorry, "House Ghost" [should be the title].'" 

Somehow, though, Warner Bros. gave in and the "Beetlejuice" title remained. "In the end they just said, 'Ugh, it's gonna be a disaster anyhow, let's just put it out.' And of course, you know, it did really well," Elfman said. But this wouldn't be the last time skepticism would form before a project's completion.

Burton's legendary 1990 fantasy tale, "Edward Scissorhands," ran into issues when it was shown to test audiences — mainly because Elfman's now-iconic score wasn't included. "Like often with Tim's movies, it previewed terribly," Elfman recalled for GQ. "You know, they'll often preview a movie before it's totally finished, and the score is still like weeks or a month away from recording, and I remember being there for it. And the audience ... they had no clue what to make of this thing."

One big issue at the test screening of "Edward Scissorhands," Elfman told GQ, was the impression one audience member had of the film's antagonist, Jim, played by Anthony Michael Hall: "This guy gets up in the focus group and he goes, 'I felt sorry for him' and I remember thinking, 'Oh, my God,' and Tim is like, 'Oh, this is not going well.'" 

Thankfully, Tim Burton's and Danny Elfman's fears during the "Edward Scissorhands" test screening were all for naught. In fact, all of the right pieces fell into place for the film, including the casting of Johnny Depp, who loved "Edward Scissorhands" so much he initially was afraid to audition for it.