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Credit: Edited by Inside the MagicBeetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024) is bringing back more than a few familiar faces from the 1988 original horror-comedy, as Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Cathleen O’Hara step back into Tim Burton’s twisted, pin-striped world. However, eagle-eyed viewers will notice one member of the original cast not-so-shockingly absent in the trailer below.
The film’s official synopsis reads as follows,
“Beetlejuice is back! After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened. With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.”
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Getting the obvious out of the way, the trailer looks great. There’s so much fan service in such a short amount of time that it’s enough to make even Beetlejuice’s head spin. The Maitland House, the covered bridge, Adam’s model of the town, and other icons of the original film are all present and accounted for as the Deetz family makes their reveal… with one member absent.
Beetlejuice Star Put on Sex Offender Registry
The “unexpected family tragedy” is the death of Charles Deetz (Lydia’s father played by Jeffrey Jones) as we see his likeness on the tombstone in the trailer. A death in the family is undoubtedly an appropriate storytelling choice for a Beetlejuice sequel, but there’s much more to it than just killing off one of the original’s main characters.
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Along with playing the clueless Charles Deetz in the first Beetlejuice (1988), character actor Jeffrey Jones also had a long list of other film appearances, including Amadeus (1984), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1987), and even collaborated with Burton again for Sleepy Hollow (1999). However, Jones was charged with possession of child pornography in 2003, which put him on the Sex Offender Registry and ultimately squashed his career.
The Hollywood Reporter shares,
He worked far less in the years following a 2003 plea of no contest to hiring a 14-year-old boy to pose naked for photos, for which he was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Naturally, with the current social climate, casting Jones in the new sequel would be a bottle of box office poison. Even though it was also stated that the movie would feature further adventures in the land of the dead, it would appear that Charles Deetz is permanently deceased in multiple definitions. With that in mind, some kudos should be given to Burton for finding a way to remove the controversial actor from the film while still maintaining the continuity of his created world.
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is set to release September 4, 2024, and the Ghost with the Most will surely scare up some spooky schemes this fall.
Do you think Jones should have returned for the sequel? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!