Warning: Spoilers ahead for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!Beetlejuice 2might capture the wacky spirit of the original, but a lot has changed to the characters at the center of Tim Burton’s 1988 movie. Ittook 36 years forBeetlejuice 2to happen, with many different versions of a sequel in development during that span. A key to the sequel’s potential success, however, wasBeetlejuice 2’s cast, specifically the returns of original actors Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara. All three are integral to the sequel’s story alongside Jenna Ortega’s Astrid and Justin Theroux’s Rory, who are both heavily involved in Burton’s follow-up.
While the originalBeetlejuicethrew its character into some peculiar situations, Burton somehow found weirder scenarios for the Deetz family during their visit back to Winter River. Even the afterlife inBeetlejuice 2seems bigger, with more locations and prominent lore explored in the sequel. That said, there are several notable reveals in the movie detailing what has happened in the years betweenBeetlejuice’s endingand the events ofBeetlejuice 2.
10Lydia Gets Married To Richard
Richard Makes A Direct Appearance In The Sequel
Lydia is around 52 years old inBeetlejuice 2, and a lot has changed since she was last seen as an angsty teen in 1988’sBeetlejuice. The original movie didn’t feature any proper love interests for Lydia (no, Keaton’s character doesn’t count), though the sequel provides several updates regarding the character’s love life. Lydia got married to a man named Richard after the events of the originalBeetlejuice’s ending. Aside from being portrayed as a great man,not much is revealed about Lydia and Richard’s relationship before they got married.
Santiago Cabrera, who previously starred inHeroes, Merlin, Salvation, andStar Trek: Picard, plays Richard inBeetlejuice 2.
It would have been nice to hear about how Lydia met Richard or even more information about their wedding, especially since marriage has come into play in bothBeetlejuicemovies now. Conversely, it makes sense whyBeetlejuice 2leaves out the specific details of their past. Not only is Richard’s current fate a major factor in the sequel, but the status of their marriage significantly altersthe Deetz family dynamic inBeetlejuice 2.
9Lydia & Richard Have A Daughter Named Astrid
Astrid Takes Over As The Teenager In Beetlejuice 2
Among the newcomers toBeetlejuice 2’s cast is Jenna Ortega, who plays Lydia’s daughter, Astrid. The character didn’t grow up in Winter River, but she’s drawn there with Lydia and Delia in the second movie. The movie also reveals thatLydia went into labor when she and Richard were at a horror movie marathon. Consideringhow old Ortega’s Astrid is inBeetlejuice 2, the character would have been born sometime around 2008.
Astrid isn’t very close with Lydia, at least not at the start of the sequel
Astrid definitely shares traits with Lydia, but based on her interest in activism, she chose to follow in her father’s footsteps. WhenBeetlejuice 2begins, Astrid is attending a boarding school, which the Deetz family has helped fund based on the art wing in their name. Unfortunately, Astrid isn’t very close with Lydia, at least not at the start of the sequel, and the fate of Richard has a lot to do with the strained mother-daughter relationship.
8Richard Died While In South America
Astrid’s Father Passed Away Before The Events Of The Sequel
BeforeBeetlejuice 2was released, it was confirmed that Lydia’s husband and Astrid’s father died before the events of the sequel.What happened to Richard is revealed inBeetlejuice 2when Astrid shares the story of her dad’s boating accident during a trip to Brazil. When Richard finally appears in the movie as a worker in the afterlife, his appearance reveals that piranhas attacked him after the tragic accident.
It’s unclear when exactly Richard died, butBeetlejuice 2confirms that the marriage between Lydia and Astrid’s father was essentially over before his death.The broken family and Astrid’s resentment caused by Lydia not being able to use her powers to communicate with Richard’s ghost hurt the relationship between Lydia and Astrid. Thankfully, the reunion of the trio in the afterlife helps give the family some closure.
7Adam & Barbara Maitland Left The House
Beetlejuice 2 Answers A Big Maitland Mystery
One of the biggest questions heading intoBeetlejuice 2was how the sequel would explain the absence of Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. Adam and Barbara Maitland were pivotal figures in Burton’s original movie, and based on ghost rules, they should have still been stuck in the home during the events ofBeetlejuice 2. However, it was confirmed the actors wouldn’t be in the sequel. Instead of leaving it a looming mystery,Beetlejuice 2explains what happened to Baldwin and Davis' characters, explaining thatAdam and Barbara found a loophole that allowed them to “move on” in the afterlife.
25 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Easter Eggs & References Explained
Beetlejuice 2 embraces nostalgia by staying true to the original movie, but the various Easter eggs and references also lean into modern day.
What exactly that afterlife loophole was doesn’t come into play in the sequel, but there are still nods to the characters in the movie. Aside from Adam’s town model being present and admired, Lydia mentions them fondly, further proving how much they still mean to her. It already would have been difficult to include Adam and Barbara in aBeetlejuicesequel made 36 years later when ghosts aren’t supposed to age.
6Jeremy Murdered His Parents In Winter River
The Newcomer Has A Very Dark History
Beetlejuice 2introduces Arthur Conti’s Jeremy, a teenager in Winter River who catches Astrid’s eye. Technically, Astrid crashes into Jeremy’s yard before the pair quickly bond, but their pairing takes a dark turn on Halloween night. It turns outJeremy is a spirit stuck in his Winter River home with the parents he killed over 20 years before the events ofBeetlejuice 2. He reveals himself as a ghost before convincing Astrid to accompany him in the afterlife.
Unfortunately for Astrid, she doesn’t learn the truth about Jeremy until he takes advantage of her trust. Lydia, meanwhile, finds out that Jeremy killed his parents and then fell from his treehouse, causing his own death, when the police caught up with him. He had been trapped in the house with his parents for decades while the location became known as the “murder house” in Winter River.
5Beetlejuice Got A New Job In The Afterlife
Keaton’s Character Is Now A Manager
Beetlejuice may have been a freelance “bio-exorcist” (among other things) in the original movie, but before that, he supposedly worked for Juno as a civil servant for a time. By the events ofBeetlejuice 2,Keaton’s character is the “Afterlife Call Center Manager” in the Neitherworld, revealing that he somehow found a real job in the realm after the trouble he caused in the first movie. The existence of a call center also proves how much times have changed since 1988 since it allows ghosts to contact the afterlife without visiting.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Soundtrack Guide: Every Song & When They Play
The long-awaited Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, starring Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega, includes a soundtrack of entertaining songs that shape the plot.
Not only is Beetlejuice now a manager, but he also has his team of shrunken-head men, including his right-hand man, Bob. The men all wear bright yellow suits and handle the incoming calls while Beetlejuice “manages” everything. Aside from Bob, who is clearly the most loyal, the other men attempt to escape at their first opportunity.
4Rory Entered Lydia’s Life
Rory Manipulated Lydia
Following Richard’s unexpected passing, Lydia attended a grief retreat to process everything. While there, she met Rory, who had reportedly lost his wife to a skiing accident.Rory and Lydia began a romantic relationship beforeBeetlejuice 2, and it was serious enough for him to be involved in all facets of her life. Though Astrid and Delia clearly see right through Rory’s phony facade, it takes Lydia a while to see the truth.
Thankfully, Lydia doesn’t end up marrying Rory inBeetlejuice 2’s ending
Rory was at the retreat looking at some promising widow to leech himself onto and manipulate. Unfortunately for Lydia, she was a suitable candidate due to her wealthy family and promising gifts from which Rory made sure to profit. Thankfully, Lydia doesn’t end up marrying Rory inBeetlejuice 2’s ending, but she finally finds out how much time she’s wasted being with someone like Rory.
3Delia Opened An Art Studio
Delia Never Gave Up On Her Art
Delia’s eccentric art and sculptures were some of the funniest aspects of the original movie, and those elements rightfully return in the sequel. The character never stopped with her artistic dreams, and in fact,Beetlejuice 2reveals that Delia opened an art studio in New York City.The studio features some oddly beautiful pieces created by Delia, and that’s not the only display of her art. Astrid’s school displays several of Delia’s sculptures around the campus grounds.
Every Beetlejuice Actor Who Returned For The Sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Here are the returning stars from Beetlejuice who return 36 years later for the long-awaited Tim Burton-directed follow-up, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Even after returning to Winter River after Charles' death, Delia uses her artistic gift to process her grief. Her “art of sorrow” comes in the form of draping the Deetz home in Winter River with sheer black covering, as if the house is also mourning the loss of Charles. There’s also a point in the movie where Delia tries to capture her emotions by recording primal screams.
2Lydia Became The Host Of A Supernatural Talk Show
Lydia Is A Celebrity Now
Despite being interested in photography as a teen, it seems Lydia never took a professional route with her teenage hobby. By the time we see Ryder’s character inBeetlejuice 2,Lydia is the host of a supernatural talk show titledGhost House. The show, which Rory is heavily involved with as the producer, is taped in front of a live audience as Lydia interviews those dealing with hauntings. While it’s not surprising that Lydia still uses her gifts to communicate with the dead, Astrid isn’t too fond of her mother’s career choice.
It’s difficult for Astrid to believe in Lydia’s gifts when she has never been able to communicate with Richard.
Lydia might be somewhat of a celebrity, but Astrid views her mom as a fraud. It’s difficult for Astrid to believe in Lydia’s gifts when she has never been able to communicate with Richard. Lydia’s celebrity status and unorthodox career path have also led to bullying from Astrid’s peers. Of course, Astrid discovers similar supernatural gifts after her encounter with Jeremy and a trip tothe afterlife in theBeetlejuiceuniverse.
1Charles Died From A Shark Attack
Charles Is Killed Off Shortly Before The Sequel
The death of Jeffrey Jones' character was confirmed in the sequel’s first teaser trailer, buthow Charles Deetz died inBeetlejuice 2is detailed pretty early in the movie. Charles ' plane crashes into the ocean while on a bird-watching trip to South America. According to the stop-motion recreation of the event,Charles survives the crash, but he’s eaten by a shark while trying to join the other survivors on the wreckage. His death then reunites the Deetz women as they return to Winter River for his funeral.
Every Major Dead Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Character & How They Died
Here’s how every deceased major character who appears in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice met their end, both in the mortal realm and in the afterlife.
Oddly enough,Beetlejuice 2still features Charles in the sequel. Aside from his stop-motion form, the character’s headless torso wanders around the Neitherworld for the rest of the movie. He’s shown a few times while the rest of his family is simultaneously dealing with other issues involving the afterlife. However, Charles eventually reunites with his wife afterBeetlejuice 2kills off Deliaafter her unfortunate snake bites.
