Summary
Beetlejuice 2 needs its new ghosts to avoid the plot hole of Adam and Barbara’s appearance inconsistency in the original film. The newly deceased character in Beetlejuice 2 should either have a less complicated death or wear scars to avoid the same plot hole. Adam and Barbara’s dry appearance after death in the original film was a practical choice for the actors, as wearing wet clothes would have been inconvenient and uncomfortable.
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Tim Burton included a plot hole regarding Barbara and Adam’s appearances in the original movie that Beetlejuice 2’s new ghosts must avoid. Building Beetlejuice’s worlds of the living and the dead came with plenty of rules outlined in the Handbook for the Recently Deceased and inexplicable time changes in the original movie, most of which are sure to return in Beetlejuice 2’s story. However, Burton’s original 1988 film did break a few of its own rules for practical reasons, though the long-awaited sequel can still be careful to avoid these movie-making inconsistencies.
While the plot and character details are being kept under wraps for Beetlejuice 2, it’s assumed that the 2024 movie will kick off with a significant death, similar to the original movie. With Adam and Barbara still missing from Beetlejuice 2, the sequel will need a new recently deceased character to bring the tale back to the Neitherworld and have the Deetzes gear up for their reunion with Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice. In addition to rehashing many of the same experiences that Adam and Barbara faced as recently deceased people, the death of Beetlejuice 2’s character has the opportunity to avoid an error in their ghostly appearance that created a plot hole for the 1988 horror-comedy.
Beetlejuice 2’s New Ghosts Need To Look Exactly How They Did When They Died (Unlike Adam & Barbara)
One of the most notable plot holes from Beetlejuice regarded Adam and Barbara’s appearances after death. While the rest of the ghosts in the Neitherworld wore their scars and looked exactly as they did at the time of their deaths, Adam and Barbara simply wore the same clothes and age for their afterlives. Had the couple followed this afterlife rule, then Adam and Barbara would have been soaking wet throughout the film, as they died by drowning in Beetlejuice’s opening sequence.
Adam and Barbara technically dry off by the fire when they first get home, but their permanent appearances do create an odd inconsistency with their fellow deceased people, especially given how easily Burton could have changed their deaths to be less physically taxing in the afterlife. As such, to avoid repeating this same plot hole in the sequel, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2 needs its newly deceased character to have a less complicated death. Alternatively, if Beetlejuice 2’s character is given a more tragic death, the ghost needs to wear the scars of the incident similar to the other spirits in the Neitherworld waiting room.
Related: Beetlejuice Ending Explained – How It Sets Up Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice 2 Return
Why Adam & Barbara’s Ghost Plot Hole Makes Sense In Beetlejuice
While there arguably could have been an easier fix for their deaths to avoid the plot hole of being dry, Adam and Barbara’s appearances make sense for the actors. If Tim Burton avoided the plot hole by maintaining their drowned appearance, then actors Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis would have had to wear soaking wet clothing throughout the filming of Beetlejuice. Not only would this have been a hassle for production, but it also would have been an unnecessarily uncomfortable predicament for Baldwin and Davis. Rather than appearing drenched throughout Beetlejuice, the ghosts are able to maintain their dry appearance from just before hitting the water. However, Beetlejuice 2 can avoid a similar inconsistency altogether by writing a less complex death.
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