With Beetlejuice 3 now in the works at Warner Bros., the new sequel has the opportunity to address some missing characters and questions that were left unresolved by the 2024 movie. While there were still some core returning characters in Beetlejuice 2, including Betelgeuse himself, Lydia Deetz, Delia Deetz, and Charles Deetz (though recast with a new voice actor), it was difficult to ignore the absence of arguably the two biggest figures from the 1988 original movie: Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis).

After all, the Maitlands were at the center of Beetlejuice’s story as the two recently deceased ghosts trying to scare the Deetz family out of their home, though they ultimately lived together harmoniously in the film’s ending. However, given how difficult it would be to explain why Baldwin and Davis’ characters looked 35 years older despite being ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, their absences from the sequel were justified. Still, at one point, it was suggested that Adam and Barbara could have cameos in Beetlejuice 2’s ending. Burton ultimately vetoed the idea, and it’s a decision that should be stuck by for Beetlejuice 3‘s story.

Beetlejuice 3 Still Shouldn’t Bring Barbara & Adam Maitland Back For Cameos

Burton Made The Right Decision To Avoid Cameos In Beetlejuice 2

As was the case for Beetlejuice 2, the third installment would be better off by avoiding any afterlife cameos from Adam and Barbara Maitland. Their characters are still influential to the overall story of the Deetz family and Betelgeuse, but references to their past and importance should satisfy the need for their presence in future outings. Beetlejuice’s franchise ignoring Adam and Barbara’s legacies entirely would be a mistake, but cameo returns would end up distracting from the new plot.

When Beetlejuice 2’s writers discussed a potential Barbara and Adam cameo, they suggested that the couple’s ghosts show up at the end of the movie. Of course, there was the problem that Adam and Barbara needed to still look 35 years old, which would have required de-aging technology to work, clashing with the practical effects approach of the sequel. They ultimately decided against it after discussing the idea with Burton, with the creative team agreeing that the Maitlands didn’t need to appear because their story had already been told:

“It’s funny with the Maitlands because we asked Tim, and we went back and forth. There was a version where they just showed up at the end, but the problem is they’re ghosts. So they kind of needed to look like they were 35, which was never going to happen. I think Tim felt, and Miles and I agreed, that their story had been told. So how do we move on from that?”

That remains true for Beetlejuice 3, even though another return to Winter River could allow Astrid to finally see the “nonexistent” ghosts who became such important figures in Lydia’s adolescence. If the Maitlands were to return, they’d deserve much more than a quick cameo at the end of a movie, which wouldn’t honor the full weight of their roles in the Deetzes’ narrative. Their memories are better served by living through Lydia’s recollections and discussions about them, eternalizing them in the story just as they were at the end of Beetlejuice’s 1988 movie.

Delia & Charles’ Beetlejuice 3 Stories Could Help Solve Unanswered Questions About Barbara & Adam

Delia & Charles Would Have Already Been ᴅᴇᴀᴅ For A Few Years By Beetlejuice 3

Still, Adam and Barbara’s absences from Beetlejuice Beetlejuice left some lingering questions about their afterlife leading up to the “loophole” they found to get out of their 125-year sentence at the Winter River house. However, rather than exploring those mysteries through their returns, Beetlejuice 3 could use the new afterlife experiences of the recently deceased Delia and Charles Deetz instead. If it picks up in real time, then Beetlejuice 3 would show Charles and Delia after a few years of being ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, which is an era of the afterlife we never got to see with the Maitlands.

Lydia also doesn’t go into detail about the loophole Barbara and Adam found to “move on,” which is a detail that Beetlejuice 3 could explore with Delia and Charles. While we know that they could easily board the afterlife’s Soul Train to fast-track their way to the Pearly Gates or The Great Beyond, the loophole that Barbara and Adam found could give them a different path for living out the rest of their eternity. Through the Deetzes, we can get a better idea of what the afterlife was really like for Barbara and Adam before they moved on.

Beetlejuice 3 Should Continue Focusing On New Ghosts & Departments Instead Of Original Neitherworld Characters

The Afterlife Is Too Vast To Explore The Same People & Places

Rather than bringing back familiar ghosts like Beetlejuice’s Juno the Caseworker, Miss Argentina, or the Maitlands for cameos, Beetlejuice 3 should be focused on expanding on the vast world of the afterlife. Beetlejuice 2 being a legacy sequel meant much of what we saw in the afterlife would consist of callbacks to familiar locations like the Neitherworld Waiting Room, but it still did a fantastic job of building on top of that with departments like Immigration, the Soul Train, the police force, and Betelgeuse’s call center.

Beetlejuice 3 could take that even further by introducing new afterlife ghost characters, exploring other departments like the newspaper that Betelgeuse often reads, and going deeper into the lore of the Neitherworld. It’s such a boundless world that doesn’t require returning to the same familiar characters and places, outside of Betelgeuse himself, of course. It would be great to still have some nods to the Maitlands in Beetlejuice 3’s afterlife return, but it would make more sense to have any references just be made in pᴀssing.