Beetlejuice 2 Totally Botched The Delores Detail That Connects Back To Tim Burton’s Original Movie – Or Did It?

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice saw the Deetz family return to Winter River and reunite with Michael Keaton’s illustrious figure in the striped suit. However, depending on your viewpoint, the sequel might have missed one key detail linking it to Tim Burton’s cult classic. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice comes 36 years after the original, and the ambitious sequel sets out to answer some of the most-anticipated questions in the franchise — such as providing conclusive answers to Betelgeuse’s origin story. However, the movie generated a whole host of new queries in the process, many of which were left ambiguous and pertained to the new characters in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Betelgeuse’s former spouse, Delores, is one of many new characters in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Portrayed by Monica Bellucci, Delores character captivated viewers, leaving us eager to see more of her. Despite her minimal screentime, Delores acts as the overarching villain of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, returning to exact revenge on Betelgeuse for killing her on the night of their nuptials, despite poisoning him initially. Delores’ resurrection sequence stands out as a prime illustration of Burton’s signature style, but one specific detail clashes with the original movie’s wedding scene, right before the Maitlands save Lydia from a certain fate with Betelgeuse.

Delores’ Missing Finger Detail In Beetlejuice 2 Doesn’t Make Sense Based On The Original Movie’s Wedding Scene

Beetlejuice May Not Have Had Delores’ Finger In The First Movie

In Tim Burton’s timeless classic, Betelgeuse takes a wedding ring from a severed finger kept in his pocket to give to Lydia’s during their vows. It’s a very deliberate sH๏τ that implies it was taken from his first wife. Of course, until the second installment, audiences were unaware that Betelgeuse was married before. Therefore, isolating the action from the events of Beetlejuice means it doesn’t particularly hold much significance. In fact, Betelgeuse deliberates with himself, “I always said if I ever did it, I was gonna do it once and that was it,” implying his encounter with Lydia would be his first marriage.

When Delores is introduced in the sequel, Betelgeuse’s ex-wife is initially missing a finger. It coincidentally appears to be the same ring finger that Betelgeuse had given to Lydia, which would have been a remarkably well-placed callback to the first movie. Beyond this, it also implies Betelgeuse kept her finger even after he killed her in retaliating for poising him on the night of their wedding. However, during the sequence, the finger crawls back to Delores as if it were already in the “unclaimed items” boxes with her other body parts — raising the question of whose finger Betelgeuse really had.

Delores’ Missing Finger May Have Still Been In The Original Beetlejuice Movie

There’s Still A Possibility The Finger Did Belong To Delores In Beetlejuice

It is rather confusing based on the events of the original movie, but given how the body parts seemingly move of their own accord, there’s a chance the finger managed to find its way back to Delores. The universe has certainly seen more unusual things occur during the afterlife in the Beetlejuice movies, and Betelgeuse threw the finger aside after removing the ring from it — moments before Adam Maitland foiled the demon’s declaration. Considering we never saw what happened to the finger in the moments after that, it is plausible it managed to crawl back to Delores before she returned to harvest Betelgeuse’s soul in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Movie

Year

Budget

Box Office (Worldwide)

RT Rating (Critic)

RT Rating (Audience)

Beetlejuice

1988

$15 million

$73.7 million

83%

82%

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

2024

$99-100 million

$451,900,435

75%

79%

Beetlejuice 3

TBA

TBA

TBA

TBA

TBA

The idea that the missing finger may still belong to Delores makes more sense in terms of the sequel’s narrative, too. The evidence suggests it was Delores’ ring finger, and it is likely that it was waiting for her, but was simply not among the clutter of the Netherworld’s janitor’s closet. It would explain why the finger was focused on as the last missing piece during Delores’ resurrection sequence. Burton’s dedication to detail and his pᴀssion for this universe means this was likely a deliberately crafted moment, resulting in Delores’ introductory scene in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice being a subtle but significant nod to the original.

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