 Wilson was brought on board to continue rewriting work with McDowell , though Burton replaced McDowell and Wilson with Skaaren due to creative differences . Burton 's original choice for Betelgeuse was Sammy Davis , Jr . , but Geffen suggested Keaton . Burton was unfamiliar with Keaton 's work , but was quickly convinced . Burton cast Ryder upon seeing her in Lucas . O 'Hara quickly signed on , while Burton claimed it took a lot of time to convince other cast members to sign , as " they didn 't know what to think of the weird script . " 
