WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Beetlejuice 2 (2024)!Though her absence was already expected,Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceincludes a subtle in-universe reason why Juno is missing from the sequel. Very few figures from the original 1988Beetlejuicemovie actually return inBeetlejuice 2’s cast, including Betelgeuse himself (Michael Keaton), Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder), Delia Deetz (Catherine O’Hara), and Little Jane Butterfield (played by Amy Nuttall in the sequel). Therefore, the vastmajority of originalBeetlejuicecharacters don’t appear in the 2024 movie, such as the Deetzes’ iconic friend Otho and the Maitlands’ fan-favorite afterlife case worker Juno.
The absences of both Otho and Juno inBeetlejuice 2make sense within the context of real-world developments.Juno’s actress Sylvia Sidney passed away in 1999, with Otho’s actor Glenn Shadix having passed away in 2010. However, with Juno being a ghost forced to spend eternity as a civil servant, her character realistically could have played a role in the sequel’s plot. Considering Charles Deetz’s ghost walks around headless in the afterlife,Beetlejuice 2already found ways to work around the absence of original actors. Regardless, thoughOtho isn’t even mentioned,Beetlejuice 2includes a clever reference to Juno’s fate.
Beetlejuice 2’s “Case Workers Strike” Article Explains Why Juno Is Missing
Betelgeuse Reads A Newspaper Article About Case Workers Being On Strike In Beetlejuice 2
In a subtlebackground detail,Beetlejuice 2confirms that case workers are on strikeduring the events of the 2024 sequel. The responsibilities of case workers took on an important role in the originalBeetlejuicemovie, as the recently deceased couple Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) traveled to the Neitherworld to seek advice about ridding their house of the newDeetz family members. The ghosts were assigned to Juno as their case worker, who advised against recruiting Betelgeuse after revealing he was once her mischievous assistant.
The afterlife newspaper also reveals that there has been an ongoing problem of some deaths being incorrectly labeled as suicides. This explains why Beteleguse and Richard are working as civil servants inBeetlejuice 2.
While Michael Keaton’s Betelgeuse is reading a newspaper inBeetlejuice 2, one article has a headline stating that the afterlife’s case workers are all on strike. This not only explains why Juno is absent fromBeetlejuice 2’s story, but alsojustifies why the new ghosts Delia and Charles Deetz don’t confer with any other case workers upon their deaths. With Juno on strike, it also stands to reason that her missing colleagues from the original movie, such as the receptionist Miss Argentina, might be joining her.
Beetlejuice 2 Subtly Retcons A Major Dead Character Detail From Tim Burton’s Original Movie
The original 1988 movie established specific afterlife rules that are made more confusing with the return of the Neitherworld in Beetlejuice 2.
The case worker strike in Tim Burton’sBeetlejuice Beetlejuicealso hints at why certain ghosts who didn’t die by suicide are working as civil servants. In the 1988 horror-comedy, it was established that those who die by suicide become civil servants in the afterlife, withBeetlejuicethen showing the Neitherworld’s employees with self-inflicted fatal wounds. However, Betelgeuse andAstrid’s dead father Richardboth work in the afterlife’s bureaucracy despite one being poisoned and the other dying in a boating accident.With a lack of case workers due to the strike, Richard and Betelgeuse may have mistakenly been assigned as replacements.
Beetlejuice 2 Pays Homage To Juno’s Original Role With Wolf Jackson & The Police Force
Wolf Jackson & His Force Replace Juno & The Football Team
Juno herself may not be in the sequel, butBeetlejuice 2still pays tribute to her role in the original movie. Wolf Jackson and the police force arguably serve asBeetlejuice 2’s replacements for Juno and the football players.Like Juno, Wolf provides a sense of authority in the afterlife’s bureaucracy, helping keep the dead’s chaos in check. Furthermore, while Juno was followed by a dead football team who briefly came to the real world inBeetlejuice’s 1988 ending, Wolf is joined by a team of dead policemen who come to the real world to stop Betelgeuse and Lydia’s wedding.
If Beetlejuice 3 ever happens with Tim Burton, the franchise could expand further by diving into yet another afterlife bureau, such as with politicians, newspaper journalists, or lawyers.
With the case workers on strike,Beetlejuiceexpands the afterlife’s worldbuilding by showcasing a different department in the Neitherworld bureaucracy. The idea that there was a police force inBeetlejuicewasn’t made clear, soBeetlejuice 2introducesplenty of new gags by substituting the case workers’ office for the police department. IfBeetlejuice 3ever happenswith Tim Burton, the franchise could expand further by diving into yet another afterlife bureau, such as with politicians, newspaper journalists, or lawyers.
There are nearly a dozen missing original characters inBeetlejuice 2, butthe only ones whose absences are explained were already dead in the 1988 classic. Juno is missing because of the strike, whileAdam and Barbara found a loopholeand “moved on” from haunting the Winter River house. Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Otho, the Deetzes’ dinner guests, and Jane Butterfield aren’t addressed. Otho isn’t referenced inBeetlejuice 2, Maxie Dean is implied to attend Charles’ funeral but is never seen, and Jane Butterfield’s fate is left ambiguous as Little Jane Butterfield takes over Winter River’s real estate game.
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Dick Cavett
It seems that Tim Burton felt moreobligated to address the absences of the original dead characters due to the in-universe logic that they should realistically still be around. The dead characters are supposedly stuck exactly where they were in the original movie, so the Maitlands would logically still be in the Winter River attic while Juno would still be at the case worker office inBeetlejuice 2’s timeline. Therefore, it makes more sense to include an in-universe nod to why the Maitlands left and the case workers like Juno aren’t conferring with new ghosts.
Every Beetlejuice Actor Who Returned For The Sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Here are the returning stars from Beetlejuice who return 36 years later for the long-awaited Tim Burton-directed follow-up, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Meanwhile, the living aren’t bound to those geographic constraints likeBeetlejuice’s deceased characters. Theabsences ofBeetlejuice’s living figures could be explained by any number of reasons; perhaps the characters died, stopped being friends or colleagues with the Deetz family, or simply couldn’t make it to Charles’ funeral. It would take far more precious time out of the movie beforeBeetlejuice 2’s endingto explain away Otho, Jane, and the dinner guests’ fates. On the other hand, a simple newspaper article and a brief line from Lydia take care of the dead characters’ conclusions inBeetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Cast
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.
Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice stars Michael Keaton as the titular “bio-exorcist”, an obnoxious spirit who specializes in driving living occupants out of homes. When Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die suddenly, they pass into the spirit realm, and must stay in their home. However, in the living world, the Deetz family purchases the house and moves in, prompting the Maitlands to enlist the help of Beetlejuice to drive them away.
