The long-awaitedBeetlejuice Beetlejuicefinally crept and crawled into cinemas earlier this month, giving audiences the reunion they’ve been waiting for for well over three decades. Many of the same characters came back for seconds in theTim Burton-helmed film, withMichael Keaton reprising his role as the titular ghoul,Catherine O’Haraback in the saddle as Deetz family matriarch, Delia, andWinona Ryderreprising her part — albeit a more grown-up version — as Lydia Deetz. Perfectly blending the old with the new, the movie did a wonderful job of weaving in plenty of callbacks while introducing a fresh story to what could easily blossom into a franchise. And, while most of these callbacks referenced things that happened in the first feature, some, including Collider’s Deputy Editor,Maggie Lovitt, wondered if there were also a few parallels tossed in from other projects in the cast’s repertoire.
Bringing Lovitt’s curiosity with him, Collider’sSteve Weintraubdug into all theDeetztailsduring a conversation with the film’s writer,Al Gough. Armed with two particularly on-point references, Weintraub asked if the young man in the Dracula costume who Astrid marries at the end of the movie was a nod to Ryder’s role inBram Stoker’s Draculaand, if Delia’s crow-themed art exhibit was referencing herSchitt’s Creekcharacter’s appearance in the fictional movie,The Crows Have Eyes III: The Crowening.
Assuring Lovitt and other fans who were thinking the same thing that he and his co-scribe,Miles Millar, are “not that smart,” Gough said:
“The Delia one, definitely not. Certainly not from us, maybe from the production designer. [Laughs] And the end with Dracula… That’s a great idea. I wish we thought of it, but no, it’s not. I love when people come up with these theories, and sometimes I want to just go, ‘Yeah, that’s exactly right. You’ve figured it out. Nailed it.’”
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s Ending Has Audiences Split
Speaking of the movie’s final scene, audiences are pretty torn about it. For a bit of a refresher, after the main story wraps, we watch the future play out for Lydia and Astrid — doing all the things that Astrid and her dad had talked about doing. You know, like Rose inTitanic. But in an instant, it’s like we’ve all taken a hit of acid as we’re thrown into Astrid getting married, quickly followed by a birth scene that rivals the one inAlien: Romulus. Except, instead of giving birth to“The Offspring”(not the band), an unnervingly cheerful Astrid gives birth to a baby Beetlejuice, who crawls around the room chasing a fly. Snapping out of a stressful sleep, we see Lydia come to, realizing that, just like inDallas, it was all a dream.
Of course, those who know Burton’s film choices will fully understand why he went down this route, but some folks were hoping that Astrid and Lydia would get that “happily ever after” ending as just two gals strolling around Dracula’s Castle, with the credits rolling before that nightmare-fuel birth scene. According to Gough, there was never a chance that the team was going to let Lydia and Astrid get away that easily. He told Collider:
“The last thing we wrote, which was Tim’s idea, was this kind of… He goes, ‘You see the stuff that you see, that she meets the boy at Dracula’s Castle, and then suddenly they’re getting married, and then suddenly they’re having a baby. And then you realize that that part’s all a dream.’ I thinkthere’s nothing about Beetlejuice that’s ever wrapped up in a bowand I think that that was something… I laugh every time I see it.It’s so bonkers. It’s just like when the baby drops and says, ‘Mama’, and Astrid Smiles, I just think that’s hysterical. I mean, anyway, so that’s really what it was. It was like, ‘How do we subvert this, so it’s not just the neat happy ending, and you’re off to the sunset?’
Also, if you think about it, in the first movies if you recall, Gina Davis comes in on the sandworm, takes out Beetlejuice. And then you think, ‘Oh, whatever happened to Beetlejuice?’ And then you had that tag at the end when they’re all dancing to ‘Shake Señora’, and they go in, andyou see Beetlejuice in the waiting room, and then he gets his head shrunk.And the shrinkers, that scene was the inspiration for having him with the boiler room full of shrinkers as his people, who make his call. So that was definitely a nod to that, but I think also we just wanted to see like,‘Oh, Beetlejuice is still around. He still kind of haunts Lydia, and maybe that never stops in one way or another, even though she’s put a lot of this to rest’”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuiceis now playing in theaters. Stay tuned for the rest of our conversation with Gough and grab your tickets below.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: The sequel to the cult classic brings back the infamous ghost Beetlejuice, who is unleashed upon a modern family, setting off a chain of hilarious and supernatural events. As mischief ensues, both the living and the deceased must deal with the resulting chaos, blending comedic antics with ghostly intrigue.
