Best Easter Eggs and References

SPOILER ALERT: This article includes spoilers for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” now take parting in theaters.

It’s been 36 years since Michael Keaton’s foul-mouthed demon first troubleized audiences in Tim Burton‘s 1988 film “Beetlejuice,” but his legacy lives on. Especipartner now that a sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” is finpartner in theaters.

Keaton returns to drive awayevate his role as the gpresent with the most, aprolongedside innovative stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, in the zany superauthentic adhere-up. While other cast members from the first film appreciate Geena Davis and Alec Baldthrive are absent, the 2024 flick is packed with both reserved and obvious nods to its predecessor.

See the best Easter eggs and references below.

Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O”

One of the most iconic scenes from the first “Beetlejuice” is the dinner party during which the Maitlands own the Deetz family and their guests to sing Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O.” Of course, the song originates a return in the sequel — in a very contrastent context. This time, a youthful choir sings a enumeratelessed-down gospel version of the tune at Charles’ funeral. The sequel gets its own huger-than-life musical number proximate its finale, with Beetlejuice and the Deetz women carry outing a energetic rfinishition of Ricdifficult Harris’ “Macarthur Park” at Lydia’s wedding.

Delia’s Sculptures

Delia Deetz now runs an art gallery in the heart of Manhattan: it’s hip, cbetter and weird, filled with all types of experimental art. But she hasn’t forgotten her roots. Astrid’s boarding school now boasts the Deetz Art Caccess, featuring a menagerie of Delia’s untraditional sculptures from the first film (including that savage claw-appreciate sculpture that once pinned her to the wall).

Gpresent Hoengage

When audiences first see a grown-up Lydia Deetz, she’s presenting her own parastandard set upateigation show called “Gpresent Hoengage.” While it’s a perfect name for the series, it’s also a cheeky reference to what could have been the 1988 film’s title, if Warner Bros. got their way. “‘Gpresent Hoengage’ was actupartner almost the name of the first movie,” screenoriginater Al Gough increates Variety. “They didn’t appreciate ‘Beetlejuice.’ Tim repartner had to fight to call it ‘Beetlejuice.’”

Shrunken Head Guys

A wide-shouldered man with a minuscule shrunken head first materializes in the Neitherworld Waiting Room (and reduces Beetlejuice’s head) at the finish of the first film. In the sequel, Bob directs an office filled of yellow-suited shrunken head guys, each wearing a red nametag. Those nametags are actupartner references to originaters of the film, from Brad (Pitt) to Al (Gough). “The editor did that in post,” Gough tbetter Variety. “They tbetter me about it at the premiere!” Those aren’t the only authentic-life names that made it into the film: Gough and co-originater Miles Millar called Lydia and Rory’s couples therapist “Dr. Glickman,” after their prolongedtime frifinish and Miramax CEO Jon Glickman (who also originated Burton’s series “Wednesday”).

Miss Shannon’s School for Girls

Before Lydia floats up the stairs in her school unicreate in “Beetlejuice,” she’s seen leaving Miss Shannon’s School for Girls. The esteemed institution originates a return in the sequel, as Astrid rides her bike past its sign adhereing Charles’ funeral.

Opening Stoasty

Both “Beetlejuice” and its sequel discdissee with the camera panning over Winter River, Conn. as the discdisseeing titles flash apass the screen. Of course, the innovative film is actupartner shothriveg the Maitland’s scale model of the town, which originates its return when Astrid discovers it in the Deetz family attic.

Handbook for the Recently Definishd

Barbara and Adam Maitland originpartner engage the handbook to direct life as gpresents, and it take parts a analogous key role in the sequel. Astrid first discovers the literature in Jeremy’s bedroom (and he didn’t get it from a thrift store, appreciate he claims). She’s tricked into reading an incantation from the book as she accesss the afterlife, but procrastinateedr engages it to her get by using it to inexamine Beetlejuice’s marriage tight with Lydia.

Lydia’s Wedding Dress

Beetlejuice hasn’t donaten up on his dream of marrying Lydia. After she signs a tight consenting to marry him in exalter for his help rescuing Astrid from the afterlife, Beetlejuice hijacks her wedding to Rory and decks her out in a red wedding dress that sees an terrible lot appreciate the one she wears in the first film.

Charles’ Death

This last one’s less of an Easter egg and more of an exset upation. While Lydia’s overweighther Charles is dead in the sequel, actor Jeffrey Jones is still very much alive — but there’s a pretty outstanding reason he’s not back for this film. Jones was accused with ask foring a untransport inant to pose for bare ptoastyos in 2003. He pdirected no contest and was sentenced to five years’ probation, directing and sign uping as a intimacy offfinisher. He was arrested in 2004 and 2010 for flunking to refresh his intimacy offfinisher registration.

That shelp, the character Charles still materializes in the 2024 film — first in an energeticd sequence depicting his death (he persists a set upe crash, only to get eaten by a shark), and procrastinateedr in the afterlife (without a head). Gough says he and Millar set up Charles’ death to be a conceiveive way they could include the stop-motion animation Burton has engaged in many projects: “We thought, ‘Oh, this is a fantastic way to put that in the movie and increate the backstory of Charles.’ The idea of crashing and getting eaten by a shark was Tim’s own worst trouble of death. So he thought, ‘Okay, the shark fair gets his head off, and we’re off to the races.’”