Famed composer Danny Elfman has been with legendary director Tim Burton since the beginning, creating the score for the director’s first feature film. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure in 1995. Then in 1988, Elfman created the iconic score for Beetlejuice and 36 years later, he took another cinematic adventure to Winter River, Connecticut, to create the score for Burton’s blockbuster sequel. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

while Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was still in production, Burton said it was like watching “demon possession” while Michael Keaton returned to the role more than three and a half decades after the classic supernatural comedy was released.

Fortunately for Elfman, his work continues Beetlejuice Beetlejuice snapped back into place in much the same way.

“You have to realize that with all the movies that I’ve done with Tim, Batman it’s the one exception where there were two,” Elfman told me in a Zoom conversation this week. “There were some scores that I enjoyed writing and it was such a great playground to be in – and then all of a sudden they were gone. Then I realize that I will never be able to write this music again, and I feel sad.”

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As such, Elfman notes, it has “a chance to jump back into the same playground.” Beetlejuice Beetlejuice after all these years it was “a real treat”.

“It really took a quick second to get back into that mindset,” enthused Elfman. “So I know exactly how Michael felt. It was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m back!'”

Elfman’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Score) it’s new on digital on Friday, while the vinyl and CD versions will be released in early 2025 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice The original score includes Elfman’s 29 songs from the film, including, of course, The main theme of the title FROM Beetlejuice.

While The main theme of the title FROM Beetlejuice is undoubtedly perfection, Elfman said he couldn’t resist the idea of ​​slightly reconfiguring it when it came to the follow-up to Ghost with the Most.

“I messed around with it a little bit. I got to go a little bit crazier, and of course when you have an end credits sequence — that’s where you really go crazy,” enthused Elfman. “I pulled this organ that a friend of mine has here in Los Angeles and I wrote in some organ stuff that was different from the original.”

However, the spirit of composing and recording the score for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice it was just like the original – with a bit more time to work on it, that is.

“There are things I would have liked to have done back then, but I didn’t have access to,” Elfman said. “First Beetlejuice it was a low-budget film, and even to record three days with an orchestra – even to finish the score – was a miracle.”

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice— playing in theaters and available on digital streaming — takes place primarily in Winter River, Connecticut, where Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) and her stepmother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) return for the funeral of family patriarch Charles and meet from new. Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton).

New characters joining Beetlejuice, Lydia and Delia for the sequel include Lydia’s teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega), Lydia’s boyfriend Rory (Justin Theroux) and Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe), who is a deceased actor in life from then on.

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Also key to the story is Beetlejuice’s vengeful ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci). The inclusion of Delores in the narrative gave the screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar an opportunity to explore Beetlejuice’s backstory.

As a bonus, the background sequence gave Tim Burton the chance to film a Beetlejuice Beetlejuice black and white scene and Danny Elfman to somehow mark it as an homage to the classic movies from the Universal Monsters universe. As both Burton and Elfman are fans of Universal Monsters, the opportunity was a dream come true.

“Tim and I decided early on to do this. For example, I came up with a tone and a feel for the ugly character of Monica, and that became its own thing,” Elfman said. “So it’s different from the original score, but the heart of the score still wraps around Beetlejuice.”

Elfman is gearing up for his final two US concerts this year

Besides celebrating his release Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Water Tower Music), the iconic composer prepares to return to the concert stage for the final two shows he has scheduled in the US this year, dubbed Danny Elfman: From Boingo to Batman to Big Mess and Beyond!

The concerts will feature Elfman’s rock band, an orchestra and a choir, similar to his acclaimed set at the 2022 Coachella Music and Arts Festival.

Elfman said music from his Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Score will naturally be included in the concerts, which are scheduled for Saturday, November 2 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Sunday, November 3 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.

As the concerts’ title suggests, the shows will feature Elfman’s music from Oingo Boingo, his solo work including selections from his 2021 album Big mess and selections from his prolific career as a composer for film and television.

“The show is divided in a crazy way,” Elfman said. “A third of the show is early music coming back to Boingo and a third of the show is new music that I’m doing now, plus some world premieres that no one has heard.”

In addition, Elfman added, one-third of the show is film music, highlighting the musician’s work with Tim Burton.

Together, of course, the director and composer collaborated on such classic films as Alice in Wonderland, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie, Sleepy Hollow, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice and its sequel and Netflix series Wednesday.

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Elfman noted that some non-Burton scores will be featured Danny Elfman: From Boingo to Batman to Big Mess and Beyond! also.

“Perhaps there is a suite from The Simpsons. I can’t say for sure,” Elfman teased with a smile. “First of all, there are eight suites of music and we have a full orchestra and choir on stage with us. It’s a really crazy show and it’s almost impossible to tour with it. Can you imagine what kind of bands tour with 65 people?”

Tickets for Elfman’s Hollywood Bowl and Shoreline Ampitheatre shows are available at Ticketmaster.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Score) is available on Friday on digital and will be released on vinyl and CD in early 2025.

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