Every Major Dead Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Character & How They Died

The following contains spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, now playing in theatersBeetlejuice Beetlejuice‘s major dead characters each suffered a unique fate either before the events of the film or during it, highlighting the way different demises set up disparate fates and statuses in the afterlife. In the world of Beetlejuice, the afterlife can be an oddly macabre version of real life. There is plenty of bureaucracy to work through, authorities to deal with, and dangerous threats in the form of sandworms and soul suckers. However, the sequel to Tim Burton’s horror/comedy classic quietly does a lot of effective world-building through its showcase of souls in the afterlife.

By the ending of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, it’s confirmed that the injuries that killed people carry with them throughout the afterlife. This means some people are forced to literally pull themselves together again, or spend the entire movie without important body parts. The circumstances of someone’s life and death can even give them unique powers to use in the afterlife, as seen with Betelgeuse’s dangerous ex-wife. Here’s how each major deceased character in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was sent to the afterlife, and what became of them after leaving the mortal realm.

7 Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse Is Played By Michael Keaton

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice offers a better picture of Betelgeuse’s life and death, explaining his raggedy appearance and ill demeanor. After discovering that his ex-wife Delores is making her way through the afterlife in search of him, Betelgeuse reveals to his shrunken-headed employees the circumstances of his death. Coming early in the film’s second act, the black and white flashback reveals the final stretch of his mortal life in Spain during the 14th century. Betelgeuse was a grave robber during the Black Plague. He caught the eye of the beautiful Delores. On their wedding night, she poisoned him, leading to his demise.

This explains Betelgeuse’s splotchy skin and messy appearance, as well as his suit. In the flashback, Betelgeuse is shown wearing his fine attire when he realizes his bride has killed him. This also explains his cavalier attitude towards all other beings living and dead. As a grave robber, Betelgeuse had no respect for the dead and even less for those who were alive. It’s a clever origin story that fleshes out the character and fits with his established personality while side-stepping any potential over-elaboration of the character’s backstory, powers, and motivations.

6 Delores

Delores Is Played By Monica Bellucci

Delores is one of the overarching threats of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a unique figure within the world of the dead. The leader of an unholy cult seeking immortality, Delores married Betelgeuse with the intention of sacrificing him the night of their wedding. However, the poison wasn’t quick acting enough to slay Betelgeuse instantly, allowing him an opportunity to avenge himself by chopping Delores apart with an ax. As a result, she arrived in the afterlife chopped into separate parts and was kept apart in assorted crates. A stroke of luck ends up freeing Delores.

However, Delores is forced to use a staple gun to reattach her various limbs. This explains her appearance in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, but her experience in the cult gave her some unique abilities that other dead souls lack. Notably, Delores is able to suck the souls from other beings. According to Wolf Jackson, this second death is a far more permanent ending than mere death. Delores’ was initially revived in the silky clothes she’d been wearing on her wedding night, but elects to steal a wedding dress (and turn it black) while on her quest to find her ex-husband.

5 Charles Deetz

Charles Was Previously Played By Jeffrey Jones

Charles Deetz was the father of Lydia, the wife of Delia, and a major character in Beetlejuice. However, the character is largely absent from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice due to the circumstances of his death early in the film. Effectively the inciting incident of the movie that brings Lydia back together with Astrid, it’s revealed that Charles Deetz died while heading on vacation to a bird-watching trip. While he survived his plane crashing into the ocean, he was killed when a shark lept out of the water and bit him in half.

This means that Charles spends pretty much all of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cut in half, walking around the afterlife splurting blood and without a head. This allows the film to bring back Charles without having to bring back Jeffrey Jones or recast the character. Charles’ demise to set up the film’s focus on bringing together the Deetz family. Charles’ death is one of the more over-the-top gory in the film, but also a consistent source of comedy as he waddles around the afterlife and mumbling all of his words from the giant hole where his top half used to be.

4 Wolf Jackson

Wolf Jackson Is Played By Willem Dafoe

Wolf Jackson serves an important member of the afterlife authorities in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Initially committed to investigating Delores and bringing her down before she can drain the souls of more undead people, Jackson spends much of the film on the trail of Betelgeuse. Wolf Jackson wasn’t actually a detective in real life, however. Jackson reveals to Betelgeuse (and the audience) early in the film that he was actually an actor. The star of several action films where he portrayed an action-prone cop, Jackson apparently took pride in doing his own stunts.

However, a grenade went off near his head during one such stunt, leading to his death. This is why the character can be seen in nice clothes that fit the accepted imagery of a detective, as he was in costume when he died. However, the explosion seems to have happened right next to his head, explaining why his brain and muscle is exposed. Wolf Jackson takes his role as an officer in the afterlife very seriously, using all his acting skills while rolling running around the land of the dead (and eventually the mortal plane).

3 Jeremy

Jeremy Is Played By Arthur Conti

Jeremy is one of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘s most dangerous characters. Although he initially appears to be a sweet boy that Astrid develops a crush on, Jeremy turns out to be a spirit stuck on the mortal plane after killing his parents decades before the events of the film. Lydia eventually finds out that Jeremy murdered them from the realtor (leaving their ghosts to haunt the house for decades) before hiding in his treehouse. When he couldn’t escape the police, Jeremy fell and broke his neck upon impact. This was a relatively minor death compared to the more gruesome ones seen elsewhere.

This also allows Jeremy to hide the injury under his shirt with relative ease in the present day. Jeremy’s presence on Earth also allows him to remain relatively human looking, compared to the more morose blue skin-tone of most people who are seen in the afterlife. This is a big part of how the twist involving his true nature can work, as he initially intends to use a love-struck and unaware Astrid to sneak his way back onto the mortal plane. Jeremy’s appearance highlights how ghosts differ in Beetlejuice to other deceased souls.

2 Richard

Richard Is Played By Santiago Cabrera

Richard was Astrid’s father and Lydia’s ex in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and his absence is a major cause of the tensions that erupt between the mother and daughter. Richard had been an activist, whose commitment to bettering the world rubbed off on his daughter. Eventually, Richard departed for South America to protest ecological damage caused in the continent, and was lost. Although his death is never shown in the film, Richard appears later in the film as an employee in the underdead immigration offices. Spotting his former partner and their daughter, Richard proves crucial to saving the pair from sandworms.

Richard’s appearance reveals that he died from a piranha attacks, with several fish still attached to his body. However, Richard seemingly adjusted well, showing little concern about the creatures when he appears throughout the film. How Richard ended up finding work in the afterlife instead of passing over is never explained, although he mentions occasionally checking in on the two fo them to make sure they’re doing alright. When Lydia failed to see him (potentially because he’s fully crossed over instead of merely being a ghost), this spurred the conflict between her and Astrid that is resolved in the film.

1 Delia

Delia Is Played By Catherine O’Hara

Delia is the biggest character death in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Lydia’s step-mother and effectively Astrid’s grandmother, Delia is one of the major returning characters from the first film. After Charles’ death, she tries to pay tribute with an art installation at his grave. Using two defanged asps, Delia intends the act to be an artistic form of mourning. However, it turns out the asps were never defanged and bite her in the neck, killing her instantly. This has the benefit of leaving Delia relatively put together in the afterlife, with two red marks on her neck highlighting where she was bit.

Compared to the other souls seen throughout Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘s afterlife, this proves to be a blessing. Notably, she also retains her natural skin tone despite arriving in the afterlife, suggesting people increasingly turn blue or decayed the longer they are in the afterlife. By the end of the film, Delia goes aboard the Soul Train alongside Charles, allowing them to pass into the Great Beyond together. While it doesn’t fill in all the blanks about the rules of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice‘s world, it does flesh out some of the details in an interesting way.