Beetlejuice 2 Reusing One Iconic Part Of The Original Is Concerning For Tim Burton’s $74.7M Sequel

Beetlejuice 2 has been confirmed to be reusing one of the most iconic parts of the first movie, which immediately raised concerns about the sequel. Now joining the trend of legacy sequels is Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, with a long-awaited sequel appropriately titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. A Beetlejuice sequel had been planned since 1990, and the initial idea would have seen the Deetz family moving to Hawaii, with the title bioexorcist coming back to help them get rid of another chaotic spirit. After that, there were countless rumors and speculation about a Beetlejuice sequel, and it was finally confirmed to be in development in 2022.

Beetlejuice 2 has Tim Burton back as director and is bringing back the main cast of the first movie: Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O’Hara as Delia Deetz. Jenna Ortega joined the cast as Lydia’s daughter, Astrid, along with Monica Belluci as Beetlejuice’s wife and Willem Dafoe as a ghost detective. Plot details of Beetlejuice 2 are still unknown, but it has been revealed that the sequel is reusing one of the most iconic parts of the first movie, which isn’t a good sign.

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Why Beetlejuice 2 Using Day-O Is A Worrying Sign

Tim Burton’s sequel needs far more than nostalgia.

Beetlejuice has many memorable moments and one-liners, and, arguably, its most iconic moment is the Deetz’s dinner party. In it, Delia is suddenly possessed by Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) in an effort to scare the Deetz and friends away from their house. The Maitlands make Delia sing and dance to Harry Belafonte’s “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)”, and quickly possess the rest and follow her before they are attacked by shrimp hands coming out of their plates. This scene is the perfect combination of horror and comedy, which is what Beetlejuice is all about, and now Beetlejuice 2 is reusing this moment.

Speaking to Kelly Ripa on her podcast (via People), O’Hara revealed that Beetlejuice 2 includes Belafonte’s song, but didn’t share any details on the context of the scene or any story details. However, reusing Belafonte’s song in the sequel is a worrying sign, as Beetlejuice 2 is now risking falling into the nostalgia trap that had led to the failure of many legacy sequels. Beetlejuice 2 is already heavy on nostalgia, which is expected to a degree, and that’s thanks to the necessary returns of Keaton, Ryder, and O’Hara, but the movie has to find balance to not become repetitive and unoriginal.

Surely, it’s also expected that Beetlejuice 2 will have various references and nods to the original movie, but it also has to be its own thing in order to succeed. Beetlejuice 2 has to find the right balance between nostalgia, links to the first movie, and new characters, elements, and stories, but reusing Belafonte’s song might be pointing to Beetlejuice 2 not going in the right direction.

Beetlejuice 2’s Day-O Song Will Struggle To Beat The Original

The Banana Boat Song was a Beetlejuice standout.

Part of what made Beetlejuice’s “Day-O” scene so iconic is that it was completely unexpected. Before that, the Maitlands had already tried to scare the Deetz away in different, more graphic ways, and no one could have expected them to possess the Deetz and friends and do it in a humorous way. O’Hara’s performance in Beetlejuice’s “Day-O” scene adds to its brilliance, and as mentioned above, it’s the perfect example of the movie’s mix of comedy and horror. Because of this, Beetlejuice 2 is going to have a very tough time beating the first movie’s dinner scene.

Knowing that the song will appear in Beetlejuice 2 already makes its addition a challenge, as the audience will now be waiting for the moment when “Day-O” starts to play. It’s unknown if Beetlejuice 2 will be recreating the Deetz’ dinner scene with its new characters and reusing “Day-O” for it, or if it will use it in a completely different context, though it could also be that the song will be used more casually. Either way, the surprise factor is gone, and Beetlejuice 2’s “Day-O” song risks not living up to the first movie’s scene.

Why Beetlejuice 2 Can Avoid Just Being A Nostalgia-Fest

Tim Burton has already proved he can do it.

Despite being at risk of becoming a nostalgia-fest and a “reunion movie”, Beetlejuice 2 can avoid this simply because it has Tim Burton as director. Burton has proven that he can dodge the nostalgia bullet, and a recent example is the TV series Wednesday. Burton avoided turning Wednesday into Addams Family nostalgia and gave it a fresh spin while still keeping some Addams Family elements. The same could happen with Beetlejuice 2, which could focus more on its new characters and how they fit this unique universe.

As for the “Day-O” song, it can be used in a number of ways that don’t have to copy the Deetz’ dinner scene from Beetlejuice and can give it a fresh spin, though it will be hard to shake off the brilliance of the dinner scene. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has various obstacles to overcome, but it has what it needs to come out on top.

Source: People.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is the sequel to the original Tim Burton classic that starred Michael Keaton and Wynona Rider in a horror-comedy that involved ghosts trying to scare off new homebuyers from taking their house. The sequel brings back Michael Keaton as the hilarious and sleazy ghost with selfish intentions, now joined by Jenna Ortega in a new role.

Release Date

September 6, 2024