~ Tim Burton's Next Movie Project ~

Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ 

is Getting a Sequel

4 months ago by Sandy Schaefer

Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter 

screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith is putting together

 a Beetlejuice 2 script, to tempt back Beetlejuice star 

Michael Keaton and director Tim Burton. Both of those 

gentlemen have expressed interest in resurrecting ‘The 

Ghost with the Most,’ as has costar Winona Ryder.

However, if Disney gets its way, Burton’s next film could 

be a different sequel – namely, a followup to Alice in 

Wonderland. That Oscar-winning hit was written by 

Linda Woolverton (The Lion King, Mulan) and features a 

cast that includes Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp and 

Helena Bonham Carter, among others.

Woolverton’s Alice screenplay draws from Lewis Carroll’s 
classic novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and its 

followup “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found 

There.” However, it abandons the episodic madness of Caroll’s 

source material for a hero’s journey narrative where nineteen-year 

old Alice (Wasikowska) flees a prospective marriage in the real 

world – only to discover that Wonderland has been awaiting her 

return, to lead a revolution against the tyrannical Red Queen 

(Carter). In other words, it’s Alice in Wonderland meets 

Chronicles of Narnia.

Variety is reporting that Disney has Woolverton penning a 

sequel, which is also in the process of becoming a stage 

musical. There’s no mention of Burton’s possible involvement 

(yet), but he will be made an offer. The same goes for Depp, 

who is starring in the House of Mouse’s Lone Ranger next 

year – and (probably) is going to make Pirates of the 

Caribbean 5 sometime in the foreseeable future.

Longtime Screen Rant readers are aware that several 

members of our staff were disappointed with Alice,

 for reasons that run deeper than the distracting 

post-converted 3D and its recycling of Burton/Depp 

tropes; such as, how it trades in the discernible 

characters and satire of Carroll’s novels for an ambitious 

(but, sadly, non-compelling) fantasy allegory where

 many dark Underland inhabitants and CGI backgrounds 

blurr together.

However, such complaints didn’t prevent Alice from

grossing $1 billion worldwide in theaters and snagging

 Academy Awards for its Art Direction and Costume 

Design (which is quite macabre and gorgeous). Moreover, 

it propelled production designer Robert Stromberg on to 

direct Disney’s Maleficent – which is to Sleeping 

Beauty what Wicked is to The Wizard of Oz, based 

on a script created by Woolverton; not to mention, 

the success of Alice seemingly influenced the approach

 on director Sam Raimi’s Oz prequel Oz The Great 

and Powerful (as illustrated by the trailer).

Will Disney’s ‘Oz’ be as successful as ‘Alice’?

Burton’s film didn’t exactly leave the door open for an Alice 

sequel, as it brought its heroine’s arc to a satisfying conclusion; 

in addition, what ‘heart’ it has arises from the suggestion that 

Alice must leave Underland (re: her childhood) behind her and 

make her own way in life. A followup kind of seems to defeat 

the purpose of that, just on principle. Similarly, the universe 

doesn’t seem ripe for further exploration – unlike, say, Disney’s 

Wreck-It Ralph, which is also getting a sequel. Nonetheless, 

an Alice followup is happening, so expect to learn more over 

the forthcoming year.

Meanwhile, Burton’s currently got his eye on two scripts 

from screenwriter Jane Goldman (X-Men: First Class, 

The Woman in Black): the Miss Peregrine’s Home for 

Peculiar Children adaptation and Pinocchio, a project 

co-written by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller (with 

Robert Downey Jr. starring as Geppetto).

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Are you excited (or not) about the idea of Alice in 

Wonderland 2? Let us know in the comments section.

Source: Variety