Before Beetlejuice 2‘s release, it was confirmed that Jeffrey Jones would not return as Charles Deetz, a character from Tim Burton’s 1988 movie. Charles was the Deetz family patriarch in the original Beetlejuice, moving to Winter River with his wife, Delia, and teenage daughter, Lydia. Charles was aloof to everything happening in the Maitland home until Beetlejuice‘s ending, when the bio-exorcist made himself known. Ultimately, Beetlejuice was sent back to the Neitherworld, leaving Adam, Barbara, and the Deetz family in peace.

A handful of characters return in Beetlejuice 2, including Winona Ryder (Lydia), Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), and Catherine O’Hara (Delia). Though Jones didn’t return as Charles, a new family member fills the gap with Jenna Ortega’s Astrid, Lydia’s daughter and Charles’ only grandchild. With the Deetz family still living in the Maitland home, Beetlejuice 2‘s setting is still primarily in Winter River. However, Charles wasn’t there for Beetlejuice’s return in the long-awaited sequel.

Jeffrey Jones Got Into Legal Trouble After Beetlejuice

The Beetlejuice Actor Was Arrested In 2002

Over the decade after Beetlejuice‘s release in the late ’80s, Jeffrey Jones appeared in notable movies such as The Hunt for Red October, Ed Wood, Stuart Little, and Sleepy Hollow. However, in 2002, Jones experienced his first serious criminal offense after he was arrested for possession of child pornography and soliciting Sєxually explicit images from a 14-year-old boy. The charges were later dropped, but the incident led to a five-year probation, as well as Jones being required to register as a Sєx offender.

Jones’s legal troubles didn’t stop there. After failing to fulfill requirements to update his status as a Sєx offender in Florida and California over a period of six years, Jones was arrested in 2010. He pleaded guilty to the charges this time, resulting in three more years of probation and a hefty community service stint. Based on the seriousness of Jones’ criminal offenses, it makes sense why the actor wasn’t asked back to play Charles in Beetlejuice 2.

How Beetlejuice 2 Explains Jeffrey Jones & Charles Deetz’s Absence

Charles’ Fate Was Revealed In Beetlejuice 2’s First Trailer

Though Jeffrey Jones didn’t return as Charles in Beetlejuice 2, his character is still referenced to explain the absence. As the only other original member of the Deetz family missing in the sequel, the story needed to explain what happened to him. The first footage of the sequel wasted no time with that mystery, considering Beetlejuice 2 confirmed Charles Deetz’s death in the trailers before the movie was released.

The initial Beetlejuice 2 teaser showed Charles’ family attending his funeral in Winter River, but the exact details surrounding his death weren’t revealed until the movie’s release. Still, it’s very telling that Burton’s sequel decided to kill off the character.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Would’ve Been Better Served Without Deetz’s Character Included

A Lot Of Effort Went Into Bringing Back Charles Deetz Without Jeffrey Jones

While Jeffrey Jones didn’t return for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Charles Deetz’s death was a key catalyst for the plot of Beetlejuice 2. Moreover, Charles did appear in the afterlife, with the likeness of Jones recreated using several different techniques. A shark killed Charles Deetz, and in the afterlife, he has almost none of his upper body remaining. While this helped create a sense of continuity between Beetlejuice and the 2024 sequel, the movie would have worked just as well without Charles Deetz being included.

The death of Charles is the catalyst that brings Lydia back to Connecticut, ensuring Delia ends up working with Betelgeuse in the Netherworld (with the deal being that Betelgeuse will help Delia find Charles if she helps him find Lydia). By the end of the movie, Delia and Charles are reunited. While this serves as a solid and emotional end to Delia’s story, the Beetlejuice sequel could have worked just as well without giving Charles Deetz more focus than his death simply being the reason Lydia and Astrid reunite with Delia.

Compared to the other plot lines in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Delia trying to find her husband in the afterlife felt dull. The screen time would have been better focused more on Lydia or Astrid. While it’s heartwarming that Catherine O’Hara’s Delia went to such lengths to reunite with her deceased husband, this doesn’t quite ring true to her character from the original 1988 movie. Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice loved Charles in her own way, but she also seemed like someone who would move on pretty quickly once made a widow.

Ultimately, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was still a success and a worthwhile follow-up to 1988’s Beetlejuice. However, the issues with Jeffrey Jones and the character of Charles Deetz presented an obstacle. While Tim Burton’s decision to weave Charles Deetz into the story of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice makes sense from a franchise continuity perspective, the movie would have worked just as well without him being so central to the plot.

The Cast & Crew Haven’t Spoken About Jeffrey Jones & Beetlejuice 2

Jeffrey Jones Has Acted Since His 2002 Arrest

Neither the cast of Beetlejuice 2 nor director Tim Burton commented on Jeffrey Jones specifically. Killing off Charles and referencing the character’s fate to tie up any loose ends might be the only response to the actor’s situation without directly discussing him or his offenses. Jones maintained his innocence for his first set of offenses in the early 2000s, but the nature of the charges justifies the decision to leave him off the cast list. Surprisingly, that hasn’t been the case with other acting roles.

However, screenwriter Alfred Gough touched upon Charles’ death in the movie (via PEOPLE):

“The way Charles dies in that animated piece is Tim [Burton]’s nightmare of dying. He literally pitched that: ‘My nightmare is, I’m in a plane crash, I survive the plane crash, I almost drown, and then a shark eats me.’ We were like, ‘Well, that’s genius. So that’s going to be how he dies,'”

Shortly after Jones’ probation order and Sєx offender status were announced, he appeared in ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood season 1. Despite the legal issues, he reprised his role as A.W. Merrick for two more seasons and the ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood movie in 2019. In addition, Jones appeared in a handful of other small projects, but the questions caused by his return in the ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood movie seemed to have ended his acting career, at least for now. Even if his character was brought up in Beetlejuice 2, the franchise has rightfully moved away from the actor.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Was Right Not To Simply Recast Charles Deetz

The Character Would Have Caused Too Many Distractions

There could have been a chance to recast someone else to play Charles Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. However, that would have caused more distractions than how they went about the character’s fate. By missing his upper body, the film killed off the character and made him an important part of the story without needing to bring back Jeffrey Jones. However, if Charles lived and another actor played him, the cast and crew would have had to answer limitless questions about the change.

After so many years, Beetlejuice fans were ready to see the sequel, especially with Tim Burton back as the director. The filmmakers rightfully wanted to pay off the fans’ excitement with the story and the returning cast members. The last thing Burton and the cast wanted was distractions that had nothing to do with the movie, and bringing back Jones’s character without the actor in the role would have been the elephant in the room. That would have taken all the focus off the movie and ruined many fans’ appreciation.

Beetlejuice 3 Can Move On Fully From Jeffrey Jones’ Charles Deetz

There Is No Reason To Ever Mention Charles (Or Jones) Again

The best news in bringing back Charles Deetz, even without Jeffrey Jones as the actor playing the role, was that it allowed the franchise to wrap up the story of Delia. Beetlejuice 2 was really about three generations of Deetz women and their relationships. However, while the most important relationship in the film is between Lydia and her estranged daughter, Astrid, the relationship between Delia and her ᴅᴇᴀᴅ husband, Charles, is also important. The film allowed her to deal with her loss, and the franchise can now move on.

This happens when Delia goes to the afterlife and summons Betelgeuse to help her find Charles. He agreed in exchange for her helping him find Lydia. This was a betrayal by Delia to her daughter, but it all ended well for everyone. Lydia and Astrid were reunited, and Delia was escorted back to the afterlife, where she finally reunited with Charles before they left to go to the Great Beyond. This gave Delia her happy-ever-after ending, and it didn’t even need Jeffrey Jones to return to play the role to do it.

Now that Charles and Delia have moved on to the afterlife and the Great Beyond, their part of the story has concluded. If there is a third Beetlejuice movie, it could focus on Lydia and Astrid and their continued nightmares about Betelgeuse and his deranged obsession with them. Jeffrey Jones’s character needed to return for Beetlejuice 2 so the story could explain what happened to him and give Delia her happy ending. Now that has happened, it is time for the franchise to disᴀssociate with Jones and his character once and for all.