The Darker Ending of Beetlejuice and Its Impact on Beetlejuice 2

The Original Ending of Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice 2 may have never happened. One considered ending for Beetlejuice was much darker for Lydia, but more importantly, it would have made Jenna Ortega's exciting Beetlejuice 2 character impossible. Ortega is set to appear in Tim Burton's 2024 sequel as Lydia Deetz's daughter, with Winona Ryder reprising her role of Lydia after 36 years. In addition to Ryder, Beetlejuice 2's cast includes several other returning characters like Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz and Michael Keaton back as the titular bioexorcist, Beetlejuice.

Lydia dancing with the football players in Beetlejuice's ending

While not much is known about Beetlejuice 2's plot, it will clearly be another family affair with a focus on Delia, Lydia, and Lydia's daughter. How or why they reencounter Beetlejuice remains a mystery, especially considering he was last seen getting his head shrunken in the waiting room after the Maitlands sent him back to the afterlife. Lydia, however, found happiness in the original Beetlejuice. After Adam and Barbara prevented the marriage between Lydia and Beetlejuice, the teenager found peace in Winter River, with her family embracing the fact that they live among ghosts. Surprisingly, Beetlejuice's original ending could have been much deadlier.

beetlejuice 2 winona ryder jenna ortega

Beetlejuice Originally Ended With Lydia... Dying In A Fire?

One of the most iconic scenes in Beetlejuice came at the end of the movie, with Lydia arriving home from school to celebrate a good test grade with Adam and Barbara. As a reward, Adam and Barbara used their ghostly powers to levitate Lydia as the trio danced to Harry Belafonte's 'Jump in the Line (Shake Senora).' According to Beetlejuice's co-writer Larry Wilson (via Yahoo), that almost wasn't the case. Before deciding on the happy ending, Beetlejuice almost concluded with Lydia dying in a fire, allowing the teen to join Adam and Barbara in the afterlife.

Thankfully, there seemed to be pushback with Lydia's fiery death, with some questioning whether it would be a good idea to send that kind of message to young viewers. This was especially true if the alternate Beetlejuice ending planned to show Lydia accepting her fate, considering her growing bond with the Maitlands throughout the movie. While Lydia was interested in joining the afterlife, it would have been grim to happily show a young woman accepting a violent death because she felt more comfortable in the presence of ghosts than she did with peers her own age.

Fixing Lydia's Ending Made Jenna Ortega's Beetlejuice 2 Character Possible

Aside from making Beetlejuice's ending tragic, if the movie had gone with Lydia's grim fate, it would have prevented one of the best aspects from coming from Beetlejuice 2: Jenna Ortega's involvement. While it still would have been possible to do Beetlejuice 2 if Lydia had died, despite the debate surrounding ghost aging, Lydia's death would have prevented any possibility of Ryder's character having a kid. Even though her name in the movie hasn't been announced, Ortega will likely be pivotal to Beetlejuice 2's story, including her relationship with her grandmother, mother, and maybe even Beetlejuice.

Coming off the heels of evergrowing popularity from titles like Wednesday, X, and the Scream franchise, Beetlejuice 2 couldn't have cast a more exciting young star to join the beloved Burton universe. Ortega has excelled in horror and macabre-adjacent roles, amplifying the hype for a new chapter to the story created decades ago. It will also be interesting to see how similar Ortega's Beetlejuice character is to a young Lydia, especially if she also grew up in Winter River embracing the afterlife. Again, none of the most thrilling details would be possible for Beetlejuice 2 if Lydia's fiery death happened in 1988.