According to Tim Burton, Johnny Depp will be playing the role of Jeffrey Jones in the Beetlejuice sequel.

OK, that's not necessarily true.

But who knows. We've reached a point where it's nearly impossible to conceive of a Tim Burton movie without Depp, for better or worse. Their most recent film is Dark Shadows, in theaters this Friday. Burton's muse Johnny Depp plays the vampire Barnabas Collins. Shockingly, Helena Bonham Carter — the muse Burton legally married — is also featured.

Let's talk about this Beetlejuice sequel, though — news of which would be far more exciting if we lived in an era before Burton's bastardizations of Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Alice in Wonderland.

Get ready, because Beetlejuice 2 (actual title to be determined) is really happening. Screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith is planning to write the script "this year." Burton and Beetlejuice himself Michael Keaton have both signed on. Does that mean we won't have to endure another Burton-Depp collaboration?

Yeah, right. Asked about Depp's eventual involvement in the Beetlejuice sequel, Grahame-Smith sounds resigned to his fate.

I may not be able to avoid it. [Burton] may make me do it.

As long as Helena Bonham Carter doesn't steal Catherine O'Hara's role.

[Image via WENN.com]