LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: According to an official statement, 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' sequels, prequels, or reboots are not something that Tim Burton wants to see, and fans cannot have enough admiration for the American filmmaker and animator.
In a recent interview with Empire Magazine, the filmmaker stated that he wishes to keep the 1993 stop-motion animated feature alone since it is "very important" to him.
Tim Burton clarified he 'won’t sell to the big power-plant that wants to take my land'
The 'Nightmare' narrative creator, co-producer, and character designer told Empire magazine that he would never develop a sequel, prequel, reboot, or anything else based on the stop-motion masterpiece because it means too much to him.
Burton said, "To me the movie is very important. I’ve done sequels, I’ve done other things, I’ve done reboots, I’ve done all that s**t, right? I don’t want that to happen to this."
"It’s nice that people are maybe interested [in another one], but I’m not. I feel like that old guy who owns a little piece of property and won’t sell to the big power-plant that wants to take my land," Burton explained.
Burton then reportedly exclaimed, "Get off of my land!" in a "grumpy old prospector voice," according to the publication.
"You pesky little… You ain’t getting this property! I don’t care what you want to build on it. You come on my property… Where’s my shotgun?" Burton exclaimed, as per the outlet.
Main protagonist Jack Skellington is personal to Tim Burton
Henry Selick directed the movie based on a story that Burton came up with. 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' tells the tale of Jack Skellington—also referred to as the King of Halloween Town—who discovers Christmas Town and decides to take control of the celebration.
Burton has a special affection for the lead character Jack Skellington because, in the words of the filmmaker, "he is a character that’s perceived as dark, but is really light."
"Those are the kinds of things that I love, whether it’s [Edward] Scissorhands or Batman, characters that have that. It represented all those feelings that I had," Burton explained.
"I was perceived as this dark character, when I didn’t feel that way. So it was a very personal character."
Discussing his idea for a possible 'Nightmare' prequel, Selick told People magazine, "There might be a more interesting story there about how Jack became the King of Halloweentown."
In response to questions about a sequel, Selick stated that his belief that 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is "a perfect movie [that] came out of the perfect time, only to grow into something far bigger over the years" is what would keep him from making one, not the overwhelming amount of labor.
'The Nightmare Before Christmas' is now available for streaming on Disney+.
Fans praise Tim Burton
Though fans were clamoring for another 'Nightmare Before Christmas' movie, several Internet users took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to hail the filmmaker for his decision not to create any sequel or reboot of the masterpiece.
One X user hailed and said, "Good! You don’t touch a classic masterpiece."
A second one echoed a similar praising sentiment and said, "Not every movie needs a sequel or a live action remake."
"Respect to Tim Burton for wanting to preserve the original magic of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. It’s a masterpiece that stands on its own," explained another one.
Another one respected Burton's decision and wrote, "I respect Tim Burton's decision to preserve the uniqueness of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. It's a timeless masterpiece that deserves to stand alone."
Another online fan suggested, "Don’t try fix what’s not broken! This is a classic masterpiece"
"People have been begging for a sequel for years and they need to let it go… the movie was and still is amazing as it stands.. nothing more is required," asserted one more fan.
One more praising came along with one writing, "Now some is talking sense in an industry where almost every movie is either getting a sequel or a reboot."
Robot Junkyard Studios aka Jim wrote on X: "Good for Tim. The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of those movies that is pretty much perfect because of its flaws. Could he make it “better” or “fresher”? Yes, because times and technology have changed. But it will never be as good as what he’s already created. He should protect his land."