Michael Keaton returned to “Saturday Night Live” this week, marking his fourth time hosting at Studio 8H after first appearing on the show in 1982. “Man, I am excited to be back here hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ 50th season,” he said before reminiscing on where his career stood when the show first premiered.
“I was a PA on ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ he said. “And in the ’70s, you know, ‘SNL’ and ‘Mister Rogers’ have a lot more similarities than you would think. Lots of puppets. Tons of cocaine” — though Keaton then praised Fred Rogers as “everything you’d think he was.”
Keaton then touched on “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” the recently released film that saw him reprise his role from 1988’s “Beetlejuice.”
“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,” he said. The star then joked that adults often use his iconic character as a costume, too: “Usually guys in their 40s, which is … less adorable.”
Mikey Day then appeared in a Beetlejuice costume of his own, complete with green hair and a striped suit. “Look, can I call you Mike?” Day said to Keaton. “I love ‘Beetlejuice,’ it’s my favorite. Can you do me a favor and say, ‘It’s showtime?’” — a reference to a famous line from the film.
“To be honest, I don’t even remember how I said it,” said Keaton, before Andy Samberg appeared, also dressed as Beetlejuice.
“Well, uh, I do,” Samberg said. “Mike, here’s the thing,” said Samberg, “I used to work here. And during my storied tenure, I tried and failed many times to get my BJ into the show.”
“Please don’t say BJ, just called him Beetlejuice,” Keaton said. Nodding to the premise of the film, Samberg cried out, “Don’t say the name! Three times and I’m gone.”
Catching sight of cast member Sarah Sherman, Keaton said, “I see Sherman lurking in the wings … we don’t have time for another Beetlejuice. But Sherman, wearing a striped dress, assured him, saying, “Oh no, thank you so much. This is just how I dress.”
“You guys are quoting a lot of lines from the first movie,” Keaton pointed out. “Did you see the second?”
“Not yet, it’s on the list,” Day, Samberg and Sherman said before encouraging Keaton to “do the voice.” He conceded, and as Beetlejuice, called out, “We got a great show for you tonight!” and shouted out Billie Eilish as the show’s musical guest.
