Tim Burton has revealed that there was a movie that made him want to retire from directing.
During an interview with Variety, the 65-year-old admitted that he considered calling it quits after directing the film Dumbo in 2019.
‘Honestly, after Dumbo, I really didn’t know,’ he said of the film that starred Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Colin Farrell.
‘I thought that could have been it, really. I could have retired, or become… well, I wouldn’t have become an animator again, that’s over.’
The Burbank, California native explained that COVID created a period of ‘flux’ professionally.
But things changed for the better when working on Wednesday (2022) and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) gave his creativity the rebirth it needed.
![Tim Burton contemplated retirement after working with Michael Keaton Tim Burton contemplated retirement after working with Michael Keaton](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/22/21/88828223-13770201-image-m-57_1724356834733.jpg)
Tim Burton admitted that he considered retiring after directing Dumbo in 2019; seen on August 14 in Mexico
He explained, ‘This did reenergize me. Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit.
‘This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit,’ he said.
Over the years Burton has worked on major dark themed projects like The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Corpse Bride (2005), FrankenWeenie (2012) and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016).
He has notably directed Beetlejuice (1988) which is slated to release its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, over thirty years after its flagship film was dropped.
Touching on the revived project he admitted he did not plan another installment of the beloved comedy-horror film.
He said: ‘First of all, I had no idea to do a sequel — again, this is before the time where those things were talked about. But to revisit it now was nice, because Lydia was a character that I always felt strongly about. What happens to people 35 years later?
‘Where do they go? What’s their journey? And what happened to the Deetz family? This feeling about it was quite simple for me and emotional. That became the anchor of where it goes from there,’ he added.
The director explained that reuniting with cast members and crew after all those years made his ’emotional.’
He said: ‘And then with all these people I love working with — Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder — it was just very strange but beautiful. And with the new cast, it felt emotional but it also felt new.
‘And I didn’t watch the original again, mostly because I never knew why it was successful to begin with. So I just treated it as something that I could not think about anything more than that. Just dive in and do it quickly — like we did in the past,’ he shared.
![Tim Burton contemplated retirement after working with Michael Keaton 3 He explained, 'Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you¿re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit'; Colin Farrell and Tim seen on the set of Dumbo (2019)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/22/21/88828815-13770201-image-m-64_1724356969365.jpg)
He explained, ‘Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit’; Colin Farrell and Tim seen on the set of Dumbo (2019)
![Tim Burton contemplated retirement after working with Michael Keaton 5 'This reinforced the feeling for me that it¿s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit,' he said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/22/21/88828821-13770201-image-m-66_1724357150612.jpg)
‘This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit,’ he said
![Tim Burton contemplated retirement after working with Michael Keaton 7 He has notably directed Beetlejuice (1988) which is slated to release its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, over thirty years after its flagship film was dropped. Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton seen on the set of Beetlejuice in 2024](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/22/21/88775285-13770201-image-m-74_1724357387237.jpg)
He has notably directed Beetlejuice (1988) which is slated to release its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, over thirty years after its flagship film was dropped. Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton seen on the set of Beetlejuice in 2024
![Tim Burton contemplated retirement after working with Michael Keaton 9 The film is slated to drop on September 6; cast members Jenna Ortega, Catherine O'Hara, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Tim seen in 2024](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/22/21/88773823-13770201-image-a-67_1724357208430.jpg)
The film is slated to drop on September 6; cast members Jenna Ortega, Catherine O’Hara, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci and Tim seen in 2024
![Tim Burton contemplated retirement after working with Michael Keaton 11 He also said fans should not expect him to work on any more superhero films, after working on Batman and Batman Returns with Warner Bros; Michael Keaton as Batman seen in 1989](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/22/21/88828191-13770201-image-m-72_1724357326274.jpg)
He also said fans should not expect him to work on any more superhero films, after working on Batman and Batman Returns with Warner Bros; Michael Keaton as Batman seen in 1989
As for what Burton is working on next, the multihyphenate said he is waiting to see how Beetlejuice Beetlejuice performs in the box office before extending new offers.
The film is slated to drop on September 6.
He also said fans should not expect him to work on any more superhero films, after working on Batman and Batman Returns with Warner Bros.
‘At the moment, I would say no. Like I said, I come at things from different points of view, so I would never say never to anything. But, at the moment, it’s not something I’d be interested in,’ he admitted.