When a sequel to “Beetlejuice” (Burton, 1988) was announced, many fans of the original were excited yet apprehensive about the film. The nostalgia factor lent much to the excitement, but it is also attributed to the apprehension. After waiting thirty-six years for a sequel, these feelings were understandable. “Beetlejuice” was a critically acclaimed movie and is still beloved by a large fanbase years later. How could a sequel live up to the expectations of those who loved the original?

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”(Burton, 2024) has a star-studded cast, including many of the original actors. Winona Ryder (“Stranger Things”) is back reprising her role as goth icon Lydia Deetz, Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”) returns as eccentric artist Delia Deetz, and it would not be Beetlejuice without Michael Keaton (“Spiderman: Homecoming”) as the titular bio-exorcist. The latest Deetz to join the cast is Jenna Ortega (“Wednesday”) as Astrid Deetz, Lydia’s estranged daughter. Also joining the cast is Justin Theroux (“The Leftovers”) as Rory, Lydia’s stage manager and lover, Willem Defoe (“Poor Things”) as Wolf Jackson, an actor heading up the Afterlife Crime Division, and Monica Bellucci (“The Matrix Revolutions”) as Delores, Beetlejuice’s ex-wife. There is also a minor role by Danny DeVito (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) as a chemical-drinking janitor in the afterlife, Santiago Cabrera (“Big Little Lies”) as Richard, Lydia’s dead ex-husband, and Arthur Conti (“House of the Dragon”) as Jeremy Frazier, a resident of Winter River, Connecticut, with a secret.

Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as Adam and Barbara Maitland are notably missing from the cast. Lydia explains that they have found a loophole and were able to move on to peace. Happy news for the Maitlands, but sad for those who hoped to see them in the sequel. However, not having them in the movie solved the dilemma of why they, as ghosts, had aged.

While the character of Charles Deetz is still in the movie, 77-year-old actor Jeffrey Jones (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) is not in the movie, possibly due to his past legal issues.

In 2003, Jones pleaded no contest to a charge of possession of child pornography over allegedly hiring a 14 year-old-boy to pose for lewd photos. Jones was sentenced to five years probation and having to register as a sex-offender for the rest of his life. In Florida in 2004, Jones was arrested for failing to register, and he was arrested for failing to register again in California in 2010, the latter he pleaded guilty to and had to serve several hours community service and additional years under probation.

With Jones out of the picture, Burton and his team portray Charles as recently dying in a series of unfortunate events that result in him having his head bitten off by a shark. He is comically shown in the afterlife with a big bloody bite going halfway down his torso.

The returning characters are written in a way that tugs on the nostalgic hearts of those watching. In Delia’s case, this was done well. Delia’s portrayal was done in a way that felt true to her original character. She had always been overdramatic, self-absorbed, and obsessed with her art. None of that seemed to change in the sequel, though it may have been more pronounced. She loved Charles in her self-obsessed way, wondering how she was supposed to do anything without him there to watch her do it in awe.

Lydia, however, seems to have forgone all her character development. By the end of the original, Lydia is a strong female character and seems to have found happiness with the Maitlands, her father, and even Delia. She was no longer suicidal and dismal, having found out that life was worth living. As someone who has gone through depression issues, Lydia in the first movie was a role model. She proved that no matter how bad you think things are, there will be a reason to keep going.

All this changed with the sequel. Lydia has become a lost soul who is plagued by memories of the past. The trauma of almost marrying Beetlejuice, the loss of her ex-husband, and having a daughter who resents her fame has turned her back into the lost little girl that started in the original movie. Lydia has become weak and easily controlled by her stage manager, Rory, who serves as one of the film’s villains.

Beetlejuice is portrayed as the grimy and sleazy ghost we came to love and hate in the original. The sequel tries to provide a backstory about a soul-stealing ex-wife who murdered him, but did not finish the job before he took her out as well. Every time his wife Dolores and her plot came onto the screen, it felt forced and out of place. Despite these troubles with his former love, it seems like he is on the up-and-up in the afterlife. He is now running a larger bio-exorcist corporation with many shrunken-head lackeys running around but feels like he is missing something in his afterlife, Lydia. Beetlejuice is still pining after Lydia after all these years. This feels slightly off. It is without doubt that in the first”Beetlejuice”, he was attracted to Lydia, but he mainly sought her hand in marriage because he thought of her as a naive and easy target. She was his ticket out of the afterlife and back to the land of the living. So why is he still chasing her years later? Couldn’t he have found another easy target?

Perhaps this is why the writers seemed to change the reasons behind Lydia’s ability to see ghosts. In the original installment, the ability was explained by Lydia’s belief in the paranormal, considering herself among the strange and unusual. The premise of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” makes it seem like she has a special psychic ability. They may have made this change to explain why Beetlejuice chased Lydia rather than finding another girl to trick. That choice could be forgivable, but making Lydia a TV psychic, not so much. Lydia had been furious at Charles and Delia for wanting to exploit the Maitlands and turn them into a tourist attraction. She seems to have abandoned these beliefs and has no qualms about exploiting countless ghosts to turn a profit.

There was a lot of potential for this film, but there were too many plot points competing for the attention of the audience. This feels like something that happens in many newer movies. Maybe Hollywood feels that they must have a lot going on in a film to keep the attention of the TikTok generation. Maybe there were too many writers in the room, all wanting their stories to be told. Whatever the reason, it felt that it took away from the flow of the film. Between the soul-sucking ex-wife, a manipulative fiancée, Beetlejuice pining for Lydia after all these years, Astrid and Lydia’s estranged relationship, Astrid’s dead father, Delia’s grief over Charles, it was hard to care about anything that was happening. There just wasn’t enough time to grow attached to the characters or the troubles they were facing before a new problem arose. The writers should have settled on one main topic, with one or two small storylines happening in the background and saved the rest for the final installment in the trilogy. The inevitable”Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice”. Instead, they let down many long-time fans who now may be uninterested in spending money on another crappy nostalgia-fueled letdown.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” is currently playing in theaters and is rated PG-13 for violence, macabre and bloody images, strong language, and brief drug use.