Willem Dafoe regrets discussing his Beetlejuice 2 character: 'I had a weak moment'

Willem Dafoe fears Beetlejuice 2 director Tim Burton won't have appreciated his remarks about the upcoming movie.

Scheduled to hit cinemas this autumn, the supernatural comedy sequel welcomes back Michael Keaton as the whacky bio-exorcist Betelgeuse - plus original cast members Winona Ryder (as Lydia Deetz) and Catherine O'Hara (Delia Deetz) - for the first time since 1988.

Also in the cast are Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega, The Matrix Reloaded's Monica Belluci and The Leftovers star Justin Theroux.

Read more: Helena Bonham Carter thought Tim Burton was proposing when he offered her Alice in Wonderland role

During a recent interview with The Guardian, Dafoe lamented the decision to reveal details about his character without Burton's say-so.

"I regret it, because it occurs to me that Tim Burton is probably one of those people who doesn't like people to talk about the movie," he said. "I think he probably thought, 'That f*****, he should have kept his mouth shut!' I had a weak moment, ya know! I spilled the beans, as they say."

His insight appeared in a Variety report back in November.

"I haven't seen any footage yet, but it was fun to do," Dafoe shared of the project. "I play a police officer in the afterlife, so I'm a dead person. And in life I was a B-movie action star, but I had an accident and that's what sent me to the other side.

"But because of my skills, I became a detective character in the afterlife. So that's my job. But it's coloured by the fact of who I was: a B-movie action star."

Read more: Emma Stone's Frankenstein fantasy Poor Things debuts to 100% on Rotten Tomatoes

Before Beetlejuice 2, though, fans of the four-time Oscar-nominee can catch him in the surreal Frankenstein odyssey Poor Things this month, where he plays Dr. Godwin Baxter.

Beetlejuice 2 is due out in cinemas on 6 September.

Watch: Willem Dafoe missed out on sleep due to Poor Things makeup process