Michael Keaton has been enjoying huge success this year with his return as Betelgeuse in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and this weekend stepped into hosting duties on Saturday Night Live for the comedy show’s latest episode. While the actor has played many other roles in his career, it was the ghost with the most that came back to haunt him during the monologue.

Variety reports Keaton’s excitement about being back as the host of the sketch comedy show: “Man, I am excited to be back here hosting Saturday Night Live’s 50th season.” He debuted in 1982 when he hosted the fifth episode of Season 8. At that time, The New Joe Jackson Band was the musical guest and that was not a memorable time for the show created by Lorne Michaels.

However, it seems SNL is the place to be today in terms of hosting. Being invited is an honor, and Keaton seemed very happy to join the cast for a week and show off his comedic skills. It was only a matter of time for Keaton to address the famous character during the monologue:

“You know with Halloween coming up, I know I’m going to see a lot of those little kids out there dressed as Beetlejuice, which is adorable. Usually guys in their 40s, which is… less adorable.”

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As expected, some people in their 40s came out to join him on stage. First, it was Mikey Day, one of the cast members, wearing a Beetlejuice costume. He made an entrance with “The Juice is loose!” Then, in true fan mode, he asked Keaton to say one of his iconic lines: “Look, can I call you Mike? I love Beetlejuice, it’s my favorite. Can you do me a favor and say, ‘It’s showtime?'”

As Keaton tried to say he wasn’t sure how he said the line in the movie, another Beetlejuice showed to deliver the line. Andy Samberg dusted off his SNL card, and made a guest appearance on the monologue. Using a fairly similar Beetlejuice voice, Samberg said: “Mike, here’s the thing. I used to work here. And during my storied tenure, I tried and failed many times to get my BJ into the show.”

Keaton stopped him right there and said, “Please don’t say BJ, just call him Beetlejuice,” to which Samberg reacted with, “Don’t say the name! Three times and I’m gone.” Trying to speed things up, Keaton started looking for another cast member, Sarah Sherman, who also showed up in costume and delivered more famous lines.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: A Return to Basics. Well, Sort of

The joke ended when Keaton reminded them they were only doing lines from the first film. He asked if they had seen the recently released sequel, and awkwardly, they said they hadn’t.

But yes. 36 years after Tim Burton decided to materialize his own conception of the afterlife with a groundbreaking horror comedy, he’s back with a sequel to it. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was released worldwide on September 6, and it’s been one of the year’s notable genre blockbusters, making over $425 million at the box office. It’s been hailed as Tim Burton’s official return to his bizarre and weirdly appealing universe.

It is impossible to make a similar film in terms of visual style and narrative. Too many things have changed in almost four decades, and audiences aren’t the same. But Burton has tried to keep the essence of his character alive while mixing in new faces to appeal to younger audiences. The result is a nostalgia-driven sequel that feels like fan service when it has to, but it also has a fair amount of new weirdness to it. With a 77% score on Rotten Tomatoes, we can’t say it’s not a successful movie, but Burton will surely take his time to even think about a third entry.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.Release Date September 6, 2024 Cast Michael Keaton , Winona Ryder , Catherine O’Hara , Jenna Ortega , Justin Theroux , Willem Dafoe , Monica Bellucci , Arthur Conti , Nick Kellington , Santiago Cabrera , Burn Gorman , Danny DeVito , Sami Slimane , Amy Nuttall , Mark Heenehan , Charlie Hopkinson , Liv Spencer , Skylar Park , Matthew Lyons , Jane Leaney , David Ayres , Sophie Holland , Walles Hamonde Expand