Warning: Spoilers ahead for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice!Beetlejuice 2 explains the absence of Adam and Barbara Maitland, but the sequel fails to mention a significant afterlife aspect surrounding their character deaths. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis do not return to the characters Beetlejuice 2s cast, but Tim Burton’s 2024 follow-up movie reveals the couple’s fate. Since it was confirmed that Baldwin and Davis would not be returning, Burton was tasked with closing their arcs. Beetlejuice 2 References to what happened to the Maitlands, revealing that the couple found a loophole to “move on” after BeetlejuiceBut the film also has a special nod to the pivotal character from 1988.
Beetlejuice 2 Features easter eggs in the city model of Winter River, showing small figures of Adam and Barbara in the opening credits sequence and their car upside down in the river through the covered bridge. Lydia’s mention of Adam and Barbara no longer being around includes a hint of sadness, indicating that their absence still affects her. Based on the original BeetlejuiceUltimately, it was clear how much Lydia bonded with Adam and Barbara while living in Winter River. That said, Adam and Barbara’s time as ghosts in the original movie makes the sequel’s timeline a bit confusing.
Beetlejuice 2 ignores the time dilation of the afterlife from the 1988 movie
Times were much different in the first Beetlejuice movie
BeetlejuiceThe afterlife, the netherworld, comes back into play for the sequel, with the main characters traversing the realm at different points in the movie. Obviously, the Netherworld was a major element of the original movie after Adam and Barbara visit the Netherworld waiting room after their deaths. When they returned to their home hours later after their first trip to the afterlife, Adam and Barbara learned that they were away for months based on Beetlejuices time dilation. However, at the same time, dilation does not occur Beetlejuice 2Indicating the sequel ignores details from the first movie.
Beetlejuice 2 doesn’t mean the weird time dilation is still in effect
The strange time dilation involving the afterlife was mentioned several times in Beetlejuice. Besides visiting the waiting room, Adam tried to leave home, but he ended up on Saturn’s moon with the sandworm. Despite only being there for a few minutes, Adam was missing for two hours. Based on how the original movie Proved Time moves strangely in relation to the afterlife, Beetlejuice 2 Doesn’t mean the weird time dilation is still in effect. It is also not referenced to explain the loophole used by Adam and Barbara, considering they should have been stuck in the house for 125 years.
Beetlejuice 2’s end wedding should have happened after Halloween
Lydia and Astrid were in the afterlife for a while
Beetlejuice 2The end of the movie features the movie’s big wedding sequence, playing on the live-wedding between Beetlejuice and Lydia in the original movie. Lydia is supposed to marry Rory on Halloween night as part of his next step in exploiting her. Considering how much time Astrid and Lydia spend in the afterlife, There is no way the characters would have made it back to Winter River in time to make it to the wedding If the original time dilation is still the case.
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Rescuing Astrid with Richard’s help seems to have taken more time than any trips seen to the netherworld in the 1988s. Beetlejuice. Therefore, they would have returned well after Halloween in the real world. The wedding sequence is very important for the third act, especially since it features beetlejuice 2′s “Macarthur Park” musical sequence. Ignoring the time dilation certainly avoids any roadblocks regarding the sequel’s timeline, but it results in more questions with the regulation of the franchise’s afterlife.