10 Biggest Unanswered Questions & Mysteries Beetlejuice 3 Must Solve
Warning: major spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice made some big reveals about the title bio-exorcist, the Deetzes, and the afterlife, but it also left some big unanswered questions and mysteries that a third movie must solve (if it happens). In 1988, Tim Burton introduced the world to Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a chaotic bio-exorcist cursed to be trapped in the Neitherworld but who can be summoned by saying his name three times. However, summoning Beetlejuice means unleashing horrifying chaos in the land of the living and the Neitherworld, though with his unique sense of humor.
Over thirty years after the events of the first movie, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reunites the audience with Lydia (Winona Ryder), Delia (Catherine O’Hara), and Astrid Deetz (Jenna Ortega) as they return to Winter River following Charles’ death. When the skeptical Astrid ends up in the Neitherworld after being tricked by her date, Lydia summons Beetlejuice to help her rescue her daughter. Meanwhile, Beetlejuice is being hunted down by his deceased ex-wife, Delores (Monica Bellucci), a soul-sucking witch. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice brought many answers and reveals, but also left some mysteries for a third movie to solve.
10 Why Can’t Richard Visit From The Afterlife?
Astrid’s Father Died In The Amazon
At the beginning of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Lydia and Astrid have an estranged relationship. Astrid’s father died before the events of the movie, and Lydia and Astrid’s relationship was deeply affected by it. Lydia had used her psychic abilities to host a medium-related TV show, and Astrid resented her because she could see ghosts but not her father’s. When Astrid is tricked by Jeremy (Anthony Conti) into giving up her life so he can be resurrected, Astrid is escorted to the platform of the Soul Train, where she sees her father working at the station.
Richard tells Astrid that, even though he hasn’t visited them as a ghost, he has kept a close eye on them all this time from the Neitherworld.
Later on, Lydia and Astrid reunite with Richard in the Neitherworld after he saves them from the sandworms. Richard tells Astrid that, even though he hasn’t visited them as a ghost, he has kept a close eye on them all this time from the Neitherworld. However, this doesn’t explain why he couldn’t visit them, more so as he was already in the Neitherworld. As Richard died in the Amazon, he would have been confined there, but he had already moved into the afterlife.
9 Why Is Richard A Civil Servant?
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Changed A Key Neitherworld Rule
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice changed an important part of the Neitherworld that was even used as a dark joke in the first movie. In Beetlejuice, it was revealed that those who die by suicide end up becoming civil servants, as was the case for Miss Argentina (Patrice Martinez), the receptionist at the Neitherworld’s waiting room. Miss Argentina famously mentioned that, had she known then what she now did, she wouldn’t have had her “little accident”, showing her slit wrists.
Richard didn’t die by suicide – he died in a boating accident in Brazil.
Now, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reveals Richard works at the train station, meaning he’s a civil servant in the Neitherworld. However, taking into account the rule about civil servants in the afterlife, it doesn’t make sense that Richard became one. Richard didn’t die by suicide – he died in a boating accident in Brazil, as he was on a trip to fight for climate justice, but the authorities never found his body. Unless the deceased can get any job in the Neitherworld, it doesn’t make sense that Richard became a civil servant.
8 What Was Adam And Barbara’s Loophole?
Lydia Mentioned Why The Maitlands Were No Longer Around
The two big absentees in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice are Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis), though when taking into account that as ghosts they aren’t supposed to age, it’s understandable that they weren’t included. Barbara and Adam died at the beginning of Beetlejuice and were sentenced to spend the next 125 years in their home. At the end of Beetlejuice, the Maitlands and Deetzes agreed to coexist in the house, but by the time of the events of the sequel, the Maitlands were gone.
Lydia mentions in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice that Adam and Barbara found a loophole in the clause about their stay in the house and were able to finally “move on”. What’s unclear, however, is what exactly was the loophole, if the Maitlands are now wandering freely in the world of the living without being stuck in their house, if they’re somewhere in the Neitherworld, or if they took the Soul Train to the Great Beyond.
7 What Happened To Rory? Is He Dead?
Beetlejuice Successfully Got Rid of Rory
To make Astrid and Lydia’s relationship more complicated, Lydia is dating Rory (Justin Theroux), her TV producer and manager. Rory shows his devotion to Lydia at any given opportunity, but it is clear from the beginning that they have a very codependent relationship, mostly on his side. Rory even proposes to Lydia during Charles’ memorial and forces her to marry him two days later, on Halloween night. Luckily, Beetlejuice injects him with truth serum and he confesses everything: from targeting Lydia to using her for fame and money.
Beetlejuice dodges the sandworm, which eats Delores and Rory.
When Delores arrives at the church to take Beetlejuice with her, the bio-exorcist distracts her with Rory, using him as bait. Luckily, Astrid reads a specific chapter in the Handbook for the Recently Deceased that allows her to open a door to unleash a sandworm into the church. Beetlejuice, knowing what would happen to him if he was eaten by it, dodges the sandworm, which eats Delores and Rory. Rory doesn’t appear again, so he might now be in the Neitherworld’s waiting room.
6 Where Will Delia And Charles Go? Are They Spirits Tied To A Location?
Delia Reunited With Charles In The Neitherworld
Charles Deetz’s death wasn’t a surprise as it was expected to happen due to the actor’s legal issues, and his death was revealed in the trailers – what was a surprise was Delia’s death (despite trailers showing her in the Neitherworld’s waiting room). Delia spends Beetlejuice Beetlejuice mourning Charles in her very unique way, so much so that she performs a ritual on his grave with poisonous snakes she was told were de-fanged… but they weren’t and one of them bit her on the neck, killing her instantly.
Delia is last seen arriving at the Soul Train platform and reuniting with Charles, with whom she boards the train to the Great Beyond.
Delia isn’t able to find a way to return to the land of the living, even after summoning Beetlejuice, and she has to continue her path in the afterlife. Delia is last seen arriving at the Soul Train platform and reuniting with Charles, with whom she boards the train to the Great Beyond. It’s understood that this is the last step in a dead person’s journey, but Beetlejuice 3 can clarify this by revealing what’s in the Great Beyond and if Delia could still return.
5 Why Didn’t Delia Help Lydia Convince Astrid That Spirits Are Real?
Astrid Didn’t Believe Lydia For Years
In Beetlejuice, Lydia was the only one who could see the Maitlands, but everyone could see Beetlejuice and the chaos he unleashed. The Maitlands possessing the Deetzes and friends at dinner (the unforgettable “Day-O” scene) and Beetlejuice’s presence turned the Deetzes into believers of ghosts and the afterlife. In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Astrid doesn’t believe Lydia can see ghosts because she can’t see or communicate with Richard, and Delia knows well Astrid is a non-believer.
And yet, Delia doesn’t do anything to convince Astrid that ghosts are real, nor does she talk about their past experience at the house with the Maitlands and Beetlejuice. This is quite fitting with Delia, as she has always been pretty detached from everything except herself and her art, so there really isn’t a reason for her to try to convince Astrid – but it would be worth mentioning how Delia dealt with their experience with Beetlejuice during all those years in-between movies.
4 Does Astrid Also Have Psychic Abilities?
Astrid Could Suddenly See Ghosts
Astrid is a non-believer until she learns that her date is a ghost. Astrid meets Jeremy after she crashes into the tree where his tree house is. Jeremy and Astrid quickly bond, and he invites her over to his house on Halloween so she can have some moments of peace before Lydia’s wedding. To Astrid’s surprise, when Jeremy kisses her, they start to float, and that’s how she learns he’s a ghost – what she wasn’t counting on was Jeremy using her to exchange her life for his.
Meeting Jeremy is Astrid’s first experience with meeting a ghost, so it leaves the question of whether she always had psychic abilities like Lydia or not. If she does, there’s also the question of what Astrid will now do with this ability, but if she doesn’t, there’s the mystery of why she could see and interact with Jeremy, and why she also saw his parents in the house.
3 Why Is Beetlejuice So Obsessed With Lydia (& Marrying Her, Specifically)?
Beetlejuice Kept A Photo Of Lydia On His Desk
In Beetlejuice, the bio-exorcist used Lydia’s desperation to force her into marrying him: Lydia needed him to save the Maitlands and Beetlejuice needed to marry a living woman so his curse would be broken and he could cross over into the world of the living. Thanks to Barbara and a sandworm, the wedding didn’t happen and Beetlejuice was sent back to the Neitherworld waiting room after the sandworm ate him.
Surely, Lydia can’t be the only woman he tried to marry in-between movies.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice reveals that the bio-exorcist keeps a photo of Lydia on his desk and still plans to marry her someday, so much so that he makes sure to send her messages through random apparitions. When Lydia asks him to help her rescue Astrid, Beetlejuice once more agrees in exchange for marriage. Surely, Lydia can’t be the only woman he tried to marry in-between movies, but he was obsessed with Lydia and marrying her, specifically, so Beetlejuice 3 could go deeper into that.
2 Can Delores Return?
Delores Might Not Be Gone For Good
Delores was kept in different boxes in the afterlife, but a janitor’s honest mistake led to her return. After stapling herself together, Delores goes after Beetlejuice, her ex-husband and also her murderer – but, in Beetlejuice’s defense, she poisoned him first. After killing some other deceased people on her way, including Beetlejuice’s friend and colleague, Bob, Delores makes it to the church where Beetlejuice and Lydia are about to marry.
Delores is distracted by Beetlejuice using Rory as bait, and thanks to Astrid opening a door that lets a sandworm in, they get rid of Delores (and Rory) as the sandworm eats them. However, at the end of Beetlejuice, the bio-exorcist was eaten by a sandworm and sent back to the Neitherworld’s waiting room, so it’s unclear if the same happened to Delores – and, if so, that would still make her a huge threat in the afterlife.
1 Where’s Beetlejuice?
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Teased The Bio-Exorcist’s Return
Unfortunately for Beetlejuice, he still couldn’t marry Lydia in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. After the sandworm eats Delores and Rory, Astrid announces that the signed agreement between Beetlejuice and Lydia is invalid as he violated the rules of the handbook, so Lydia doesn’t have to marry him. Lydia then says his name three times and Beetlejuice explodes. Beetlejuice isn’t shown again except in dreams and visions that Lydia has, very much like the ones she has at the beginning of the movie.
It’s also unclear if the dreams and visions Lydia was having at the end were provoked by Beetlejuice or were a trauma response.
It’s unclear, then, if Beetlejuice is back in the Neitherworld’s waiting room (and if so, would he come across Delores and/or Rory?), in his office, or somewhere else in the afterlife. It’s also unclear if the dreams and visions Lydia was having at the end were provoked by Beetlejuice or were a trauma response, but all this can be solved in a third movie.